Marc Weinstein on What Happened at the Fyre Festival

Mr Obnoxious - Un pódcast de Peter McCormack

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Interview location: Los Angeles
Interview date: Monday 18th March, 2019
Company: Wave Financial
Role: Principal

The two documentaries on Netflix and Hulu about the Fyre Festival highlight what can go disastrously wrong when you pitch a grand vision which can’t be delivered. The Fyre Festival was sold as the ultimate music festival, situated on a beautiful island with the best artists, food and accommodation.

A highly successful marketing campaign working with influencers created a buzz around the festival, and it sold old almost immediately, but the team did not have the money or means to deliver the vision.

Both documentaries highlight how chaotic the organisation of the festival was and how the lead organiser, Billy McFarland resorted to fraud to try and keep his vision alive.

In this interview, I talk with Marc Weinstein, who featured heavily in the Netflix documentary about what happened on the island and how the team worked around the clock to try and make it happen. Marc reveals what it is like to organise a festival and how ill-prepared the Fyre team was. We also talk about crypto, Bitcoin and the stresses and pressures life can throw at you.

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Timestamps:

00:03:57: Introductions
00:05:03: Marc’s Background and involvement with crypto
00:09:06: Introduction to the Fyre Festival documentaries
00:14:03: The beginnings of Marc working with Fyre
00:19:28: The basics of running a music festival and associated timelines
00:24:38: Marc’s first experiences in The Bahamas with Fyre
00:30:35: Red flags that were highlighted by Marc
00:38:02: First Impressions of Billy McFarland
00:42:16: Further examples of significant problems in the run up to the festival
00:47:30: Marc’s experiences of Billy sending fraudulent wires
00:53:47: The situation 2 days before the festival was meant to start
00:56:37: Implications that the weather had on the site and the festival
01:02:29: What happened on the first day of the festival
01:11:04: What was the reaction from the public to Marc?
01:17:21: Marc’s perspective on the cancellation and evacuation
01:21:44: The clean-up operation after the festival had been cancelled
01:26:39: What were the next few weeks and months like for Marc after the festival ended?
01:30:06: The GoFundMe campaigns for Maryann and the day labourers
01:32:01: Further views on Billy McFarland and his crimes
01:38:12: The FuckJerry team and debating their responsibilities
01:41:55: Discussing the documentaries and the “media machine”
01:46:43: Peter’s upcoming interview with SpankChain
01:52:08: Debating issues with the crypto industry at the present time
01:59:31: Marc’s upcoming Podcast
02:05:28: Final comments and ways to stay in touch with Marc

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Helpful Links:

Connect with Marc:
- On Twitter
- On Instagram
- On LinkedIn
- On Medium

Mentioned in the interview:
- Marc’s Medium post: Lessons from the Fyre
- Links to documentaries:
- Netflix - The Greatest Party That Never Happened
- Hulu - Fyre Fraud
- Fyre Social Media Campaign
- Fuck Jerry
- Fyre Fraud Twitter Account

Go Fund Me Campaigns:
- Exuma Point- Fyre Fest Fiasco
- Exuma Foundation for the locals impacted by Fyre
- Billy McFarland sentenced to 6 years on fraud charges

Festival failures:
- TomorrowWorld
- Pemberton
- Ticket Vendor Tablelist Sues Fyre Festival Organizers for $3.5 Million
- MDMA for PTSD treatment

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