Music News

Ozzfest 2007 ... for free

By M&C News Feb 6, 2007, 21:43 GMT

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne and tour producer Live Nation have announced their 12th annual hard rock spectacular (a 25-date extravaganza launching July 7 in Los Angeles) is pulling the plug on ticket prices and giving the power back to the fans calling this summer's Ozzfest "FreeFest." The announcement was made at the Concert Industry Consortium in Los Angeles.

The other Ozzfest cities as of now are San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, Kansas City, St Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Hartford, Charlotte, Atlanta, West Palm Beach, Nashville.   Note:  a final confirmed list of cities and dates is forthcoming.

"For the last few years," said Sharon, "ticket prices have steadily climbed as artists demand more and more money for summer tours. We certainly want everybody to make money; however, we also want the kids to be able to afford to come out and have an incredible experience. If we continued with the traditional touring festival model, we would have no choice but to raise ticket prices again this year."

Ozzfest and Live Nation will turn to sponsors to provide added support for the festival's new incarnation. This summer's Oozzfest will provide select sponsors with a unique opportunity to engage fans one-on-one utilizing one of music's best known brands.

"We're reaching the same point we did years ago when kids no longer wanted to pay for overpriced CDs," said Sharon. "As a result, they found alternative ways of getting music. That's what's happening with summer touring in this country, it's out-pricing itself. We started this and we want to keep it and we want to make it bigger and bigger each year by getting bigger sponsors to be involved with the festival and underwriting the festival. That's what it's about."

"For the past 11 years, music fans have made Ozzfest the most successful and enduring rock music festival in the United States," said Jason Garner, Live Nation President of North American Concerts.  "What better way to say 'Thank You' to the music fans who have made this possible than inviting them to attend Ozzfest for free."

To gain entry into the event, fans will go to Ozzfest or Live Nation  to find links that will direct them to special sponsor sites where tickets can be secured. More details regarding the process are forthcoming.