Snake Oil Salesman, Charles Ponzi, Bernie Madoff, The 2008 Financial Crisis(just go watch The Big Short) and now Billy McFarland. The story of a grifter, con man/woman able to convince those of the glory around the corner if only they pay up now is old and, although evergreen, not all that interesting. Billy McFarland used social media to create the illusion and preyed on FOMO of the fabulous but that is nothing new, just a new tool. And, yes, Jerry Mediais totally complicit in the effort in my opinion. The Netflixand Huludocumentaries are both awesome in the exposure of the fraud for what it was, not so much for those who were paid to be better.
No, the interesting part are those real players who should have known better and/or gave away their integrity for up front money. Mark Musters,Andy Kingand all of the other event and music festival professionals are legitimate and will be forever brushed with their decision to continue down the road with the charade.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20 but when you know what you know, it is your obligation to stand up and say no, we are not doing this and we are going to tell everyone what is off here. The point is is that people got hurt. Yes, ticket buyers lost their money, and in some cases, had to experience a not very fun at all day and night in the Bahamas. Some sympathy for the scammed, but true sympathy and empathy for those that did all they could but did not get paid; those who tried in vain to be stand-up in a sea of moral slime. To those people who are the forgotten (GoFundMecampaigns notwithstanding), that is the tragedy. And because that tragedy could have been averted had those who knew better stood up and said no, we need to point the spotlight there.
In the Netflix documentary, Mark Musters talks about what it would take to pull off the festival ($35mm) and gives the appearance of confidence. Then, though, there was no statement whether he knew the money was there, whether key ingredients were secured —venue, infrastructure, etc., basic due diligence. The image was that he said what it would take, was given assurance that the money was there and then went down the road, presumably with fee in hand. Andy King comes off as woefully unaware of the size and scale of the disaster he is participating in and clearly out of his depth. Pulling off a great event in NYC for a few hundred people is not the same as doing a music festival for 20,000. Never once in the documentary does he stop and say that this is just not what he does. Instead, he plays the martyr, figure it out entrepreneur to the tee. That is the real con.
Let me be clear, every event has uncertainty and a feeling like it will never happen until it does. The difference here is that real experts have to be able to say what is uncertain versus what is impossible. An elephant will never sleep in a crib no matter how cute that might look.
Greed, both in the delusion of what the Fyre Festival could have been — it was an awesome idea, perfect for a millennial scam — that is what made it so enticing. Pulling off something so cool would indeed have been an achievement of a lifetime. And the dollars were big given the scale (also perfect for the scam). Process though has to take over. Evaluation of what is possible and what is not has to be placed in the context of those entrusted with their expertise.
What we saw was that creative businesses took a real hit in the Fyre Festival documentaries. Jerry Media for its continuing manipulation of the public and Mark Musters and Andy King for not stopping the whole thing with a voice that said no to what was happening. You can hold your hat on the idea that these players were victims too (as Jerry Media is trying to prove with its Netflix documentary) and I refuse to go there. I have been part of events for thousands of people (one done in 72 days start to finish) and in every instance there were experts that said what could be done, how much it would cost and then the money flowed to make it happen. Had the money not flowed when it was supposed to for the mega events I was involved in, they would not have happened. Period. When you are talking about millions and millions of dollars, when money does not flow, it is not only a red flag, it is full stop and walk away. Even if your bank account is full. Such is the responsibility of those in charge of production.
No one of consequence in creative business stood up with Fyre and we as creative business owners will suffer the consequences. When experts belie their expertise it is very hard for the public to value the power and depth of that expertise. What we all do as artists and creative business owners matters. The lesson of The Fyre Festival is that when you lose your integrity, strength of vision and character as a creative, we all suffer the stain of illegitimacy. We can do better and we have to, no matter what.
