In the latest update on the geniuses who thought "Let's just do it and be legends" was good business practice, the company responsible for promoting Fyre Festival has been placed into bankruptcy. Hopefully you have all your tiny violins out to commemorate the occasion.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the decision stems from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court dispute over money lent to the company during the festivals' planning stages (such as they were). The three lenders at the heart of this case loaned a grand total of $530,000 to Fyre Festival LLC, but the lawyer for the lenders in question claims that there are more than 20 people who loaned the company money, reaching a figure in the $4 million range.
The lawyer for the lenders has no illusion about getting their money back from the defunct festival promoters, but he saw this as a clear victory for his clients.
"If the money was burned up in the Bahamas we're not going to be able to recover it," said Attorney Robert Knuts, "but at least we'll know where it went."
As a result of the bankruptcy, Fyre Festival LLC will be placed in the hands of a trustee who will have the power to sort through records and could potentially recoup cash for investors. The trustee will also have the authority to force the parent company for the festival, Fyre Media Inc., into a bankruptcy of their own. If that sounds needlessly confusing, that's because it is. Welcome to the business world!
Lawsuits have been flying left and right since the debacle in the Bahamas, and not even our lord and savior Ja Rule has been safe from the stray bullets. An attorney for Ja Rule, Stacey Richman, claims her client "didn't get a dime" for his participation in the festival's promotion, and insists all lenders would have been paid back already had it been up to the "Put It on Me" rapper. Since he has an actual track record in the industry, as opposed to the haphazard dude-bros behind Fyre Festival, it's a tad easier to take him at his word.
Will this be the end of the Fyre Festival saga as we know it? Probably not, because Katy Perry was still cracking jokes about the ridiculous ordeal at the VMAs this past Sunday. It's a colossal failure that won't soon be forgotten, particularly if more lawsuits and bankruptcy proceedings keep raining down on the people involved. Here's hoping a few people get their money back, and that other promotion companies learn not to treat people like this.
