After a 7-year break, Sharon Osbourne is planning a revival. But please: fair salaries instead of greed.
Sharon Osbourne is said to be in talks to revive Ozzfest. The plan is to reinterpret Black Sabbath songs by a live orchestra in conjunction with a tour.
Ozzfest experiencing a revival?
The music manager and wife of the heavy metal icon recently revealed in an interview with Billboard that she is considering resurrecting Ozzfest. The hard rock and metal festival, which they founded together 30 years ago, is set to experience a revival – and according to her own statements, she is in contact with Live Nation about this.
That’s what it’s about
The first edition took place in October 1996 and lasted two days. A year later, it expanded from a one-off event to a full-fledged tour, continuing almost every year until 2018. The last edition took place on New Year’s Eve of the same year in Inglewood, California and featured performances by, among others, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, DevilDriver and Ozzy Osbourne himself.
The Ozzfest was canceled primarily because managers and agents made excessive monetary demands and the event was no longer financially viable. According to Sharon Osbourne on a 2023 episode of “The Osbournes” podcast, greedy demands for ever-increasing artist fees resulted in costs exceeding revenue, even though the festival itself was profitable. Ozzy Osbourne’s Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2019 and the immense logistical effort were also reasons for the festival being discontinued.
Continuing a cultural legacy
Sharon Osbourne emphasized in the interview: “That [Ozzfest] was something that was very close to Ozzy’s heart: giving young talent a stage in front of a big audience.” The 73-year-old added: “We really started metal festivals in this country. It was [nachgeahmt, aber] never carried out with the same spirit as ours, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids.”
Now it may start again in 2027, as she indicated in the interview. However, in a modified form: the event would then focus on different music genres – no longer just rock and metal.
Editorial recommendations
But this time please be fair
Kelly Osbourne, the couple’s daughter, made it clear in an episode of the family podcast “The Osbournes” in 2024 that the return of Ozzfest would depend on whether the artists and managers were “realistic” about their fee expectations. Her mother replied to her at the time: “Why does everyone think we are trillionaires when it comes to us?”
In a 2023 episode, she gave an example of the demands she had received from some of the artists’ managers. One band, whose name she left out of describing the example, apparently “refused to go on stage until I gave them $10,000 more.”
So it’s clear that a revival of Ozzfest is possible, but only if everyone involved has fair financial expectations. Further details on the possible return are expected to be announced at a later date.
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