ozzfest 2007

[johnliebal]

has any1 heard any news lately about any bands that may appear at ozzfest 2007, or any other news other than its supposed to be a free show this year

[ToonaRockGuy]

Yeah, John, Sharon Osbourne did announce that it will be a free show this year. I've been looking for the lineup, and actually posted the wrong lineup in another thread ( ) but haven't heard who is there this year. I have heard, however, that Ozzy will be doing a handful of dates on the tour. Not sure if it's with Sabbath or not.

Gee, I wonder if Black Label Society will be there?

[JustinGelvin]

ozzfest is free???

[Charltor]

It is free, from what I've read Sharon's asking bands to donate their time, so what bands are at Pittsburgh won't be at another city and vice versa. Black Label & Ozzy are the only ones confirmed for every Ozzfest. Sabbath will be out on tour w/ DIO doing the Heaven & Hell tour so they won't be there. It will be interesting to see who will do it for free. You know they'll make it a profit on their merchandise regardless.

[JustinGelvin]

i wonder if ozzfest is in financial trouble or what the deal is. Why are they doing the free thing and asking for bands to donate their time?

[Asundor]

I wonder how thats going to turn out. How are they holding it for free. Im sure the bands are not going to want to donate there time for free. I can only imagin how this years Ozzfest will turn out.

[Charltor]

It's just a marketing ploy by Sharon. Im sure they'll just double up on the already outrageous prices for merch, drinks and food. It might be free admission, but you'll probably pay more than last year in the end.

Bucking trend, Ozzfest admission: free
MOVE, A FIRST FOR A NATIONAL TOUR, GREETED WITH SKEPTICISM
By Brad Kava
Mercury News
In a move that bucks the trend of skyrocketing concert ticket prices, Ozzfest promoter Sharon Osbourne announced Tuesday that admission to the 25-city heavy metal tour -- which stops at Shoreline Amphitheatre -- will be free this summer.

Sponsors will pick up the tab for the tickets, bands will not be paid to perform and expenses will be covered from sales of food, drinks and merchandise.

It will be the first national tour ever to do so.

``We needed to change something and we didn't want to change the format,'' Osbourne said by phone from the annual Concert Industry Consortium in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

``We were putting offers to all these bands we wanted to tour with and they were coming back to us with exorbitant prices that would have meant we had to put the ticket prices up, which I won't do. With Ozzy's audience being younger, they can't afford any higher prices.''

Gary Bongiovanni, analyst with Pollstar, the concert industry trade magazine, said: ``I don't think this will become a new business model, but it is a great marketing tool for them.''

Bongiovanni said everyone at the industry gathering was shocked when the F-word that Ozzy Osbourne started spraying with paint over a festival banner became FREE, rather than an expletive, during a news conference.

Old-time bands such as the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Madonna have sold tickets for as much as $450 each.

``They want $300,000 plus to do an hour's work onstage,'' Sharon Osbourne said of some young bands. ``I'm just not doing it. Last year nearly destroyed us, paying, paying, paying, and we just can't do it again.''

Fans were thrilled, but skeptical.

``There has to be a catch,'' said Bret Moiseff of San Jose, who attends the concert regularly. ``They can't all be free. Just the lawn, right?''

Osbourne said there was no catch. Tickets would be paid for and distributed by sponsors, such as Jagermeister, which will present acts at the second stage, located in amphitheater parking lots.

Fans have been told to check www.ozzfest.com and www.livenation.com for information about ticket distribution and lineups.

``All I can say is stay tuned,'' said Michael Guarracino, with Osbourne's management firm.

Michael ``Magic'' Kerman, host of the Bay Area cable television show ``Bay Area Backstage,'' was happy yet concerned about the news.

``It's about time,'' he said. The concert industry has ``ripped us off for many years. They needed to bring some new life into it. I hope it doesn't turn into Altamont,'' the famous free 1969 Rolling Stones concert that ended with death and mayhem.

Osbourne, 54, said she plans to upgrade the festival's midway atmosphere, losing the tattoo parlors and cheesy carnival games and replacing them with interactive booths sponsored by technology and video game companies.

``There has to be another way to do it,'' she said. ``If you get the sponsors that believe in you and you get new great cutting-edge bands that just want an audience, we'll give them the audience and we'll let everyone in free.''

Osbourne, born in London, is the daughter of Don Arden, a manager of rock bands, including Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne's original band.

The enterprising promoter and manager has not only kept her 58-year-old rocker husband a household name, but has put on a festival that has grossed $186.2 million and drawn 4.7 million head-bangers to 287 shows in its first decade, according to Billboard Boxscore.

Last year, though, she said, the fees earned by bands, including about $325,000 a show for the group System of a Down, almost sank the festival.

``They're taking four years off, we paid them so much, and we're still working,'' she said. ``I'm not doing that again.''

She said the idea to cut the ticket price to zero happened during a meeting with Michael Rapino, CEO of concert promoter Live Nation.

They considered playing smaller indoor venues, or charging $5 or $10 a ticket, when, finally, they decided to put on the show for free.

``There is enough for everyone. . . . The bands can do other gigs on the road. They can sell their merchandise and their music.''

Could this become an industry trend?

``I don't think it's right for certain artists,'' she said. ``But for our audience and our music, it fits.''

Looks like Jagermeister is picking up the tab for the Second Stage:

Jagermeister Stage Announced For Ozzfest 2007
posted Saturday, February 24, 2007 at 11:11:34 PM by deathbringer. (thanks Ultimate Guitar)

Shortly after Sharon Osbourne made the big announcement about this year’s Ozzfest – it’s free – she followed it up with another big announcement: Jägermeister will sponsor the entire second stage.

Known as rock’s biggest juggernaut, Ozzfest is now turning to sponsors to provide added support for the festival’s new incarnation as a “FREEfest,” and Jägermeister is taking full advantage of the opportunity.

A longtime sponsor of Ozzfest, Jägermeister will roll out its own state of the art mobile stage for the summer’s biggest heavy metal festival. All second stage acts will play on the Jägermeister stage, a fully self-contained stage hauled cross country by a custom Showhauler toter home, complete with a full audio sound system provided by JVC Mobile and amped by one whopping generator. The stage measures 34’ long, 16’ deep, and 20’ high. The entire PA system, provided by Peavey Electronics and Schecter Guitars, will be hung for optimum sound. The stage will include state-of-the-art lighting by Chauvet. “Jägermeister has been kicking around this idea for a long time. The fact that we’ve spent a year designing and building this stage proves our dedication to music,” says Rick Zeiler, Director of Marketing and Brand Development for Jägermeister. “We can’t wait to showcase it at Ozzfest.”

“Jägermeister has been part of the Ozzfest family for the last eight years,” says Sharon Osbourne. “This year they are kind enough to be supplying Ozzfest ’07 with their revolutionary mobile stage. Jägermeister’s stage and their continued support are helping to make our FREE Ozzfest tour concept a reality.”

“We are incredibly jazzed that Jägermeister is bringing their innovative and state-of-the-art mobile stage on this history-making tour,” says Jane Holman, Vice President of Touring for Live Nation, Ozzfest’s organizer. “Jäger has been a great supporter of Ozzfest and the metal genre for years, and we couldn’t be happier to be able to help them showcase their new baby.”

Bands will play the Jägermeister stage every day from 1-7 p.m. In addition to Ozzfest being free, this year will also see the return of Ozzy Osbourne to the main stage as headliner. He’ll be unleashing new songs from his forthcoming album. It’s going to be a groundbreaking show, and Jägermeister will be there every thundering step of the way. Lineups and ticket information to be announced as details become available. The first show is slated for July 7 in Los Angeles. More dates and cities to be announced.


Get more band news and info on: Ozzy Osbourne

[Bag]

Gee, I wonder if Black Label Society will be there?

Or Iron Maiden?

[johnliebal]

the prices are outrageous...i payed $4 for a bottle of water last year, and they wouldnt even give me the bottle...

i have acuattly been hearing rumors of bands playing such as metallica, in flames, children of bodom, alice in chains, and a few others...these are just rumors tho...nothing has been confirmed i dont think...as for them making money...you'll pay $20 just to stay hydrated...yet they give away free cigarettes if u fill out a paper....i think thats pretty crazy

[moxham123]

I heard that Ozzy will be headlining the main stage for Ozzfest 2007 to support his new album. Black Sabbath is on haitus this year for that reason and because of the new project called "Heaven & Hell", which is Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ronnie James Dio, & Vinnie Appice and they are doing a year long tour for their new album. The original Black Sabbath is to reform for a new album in 2008 and play Ozzfest next year.

Ozzy Osbourne is putting the finishing touches on a new album due out in May, and has announced that he's heading to Europe for an early summer tour with Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society in tow.

The Prince of darkness gets going May 27 at Olympissky Stadium in Moscow and will make stops in major venues throughout the EU including Helskinki's Hartwell Arena June 6, Copenhagen's Forum June 13 and London's Wembley Arena June 19.

Along the way, the Oz Man will also be making appearances at several festivals including the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden June 16, the Fields of Rock Festival in the Netherlands June 17 and the Monsters of Rock Festival in Spain June 22.

[Merge]

i wonder if ozzfest is in financial trouble or what the deal is. Why are they doing the free thing and asking for bands to donate their time?

I read in an interview with Sharon that System of a Down almost made them go broke last year. She said SOAD charged them $325,000 per show.

[EyesOfAnguishbassist]

325,000$???? HOLY SHIT!!! How much do bigger bands like that usually charge, I mean is 325,000 around the usual price for a band like SOAD or do they charge more or less than that usually?

[SpellboundByMetal]

SOAD sucks ass, they arent worth $3.25

Ozzfest = GAY

Its sad that Ozzfest has completely sucked for years. A good band here and there just makes it a waste of time. The BEST year was '97. they will never recapture the glory of that year. The last Ozzfest i went to, a friend gave me a ticket...and i ended up leaving WAAAY before it was over. I just cant support SharonFest anyone.

[Asundor]

I agree you spend all that money and drive a very long distance to go and see only a few bands you really care to see. The rest of the day your in torment. And no reading that SOAD charged them $325,000 per show just isn't sitting in my head right know. Thats fuckin nuts. Rather your a national act or not I cant believe those bands get paid like that per show. Know I see where they get there money to buy all those mansions and exspensive shit.

[Charltor]

Sharon was charging bands $75,000 to play for slots on second stage last year. No wonder she could afford to pay SOAD that much. My respect for Ozzfest was lost with the whole Iron Maiden egging incident at their final show last year. Even if Maiden was talking shit about Oz & Sharon thru-out the whole Ozzfest, you don't sabotage someone's performance by cutting the power off and on and planting people in the crowd with cartons of eggs. That was low and she fucked a lot of fans that day by ruining the show just to prove who had control. I think this years FreeFest is just some sugar to cover up for that whole debacle.

[bassist_25]

Sharon will cut people's throats to make a buck (e.g., Bob Daisley). You have to be tough to succeed in business, but you don't have to destroy people if they don't simply do what you want them to do. She can go blow a goat. Charging bands on the second stage to play. That's like if we charged our opening bands. Give me a fuckin' break.

[BDR]

Charging bands on the second stage to play. That's like if we charged our opening bands. Give me a fuckin' break.

... We're still gonna start doing that, right?!?

r:>)