“They just wanted more and more”: Sharon Osbourne says Ozzfest was cancelled because of “greedy” management

Sharon Osbourne has cited “greedy” management as the reason Ozzfest – one of rock and metal’s biggest festivals – was cancelled after more than two decades.

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Discussing the festival on the latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast, Sharon and Ozzy reveal that they were forced to stop the event as it just wasn’t financially viable anymore.

“It was a very weird beast because all the bands were our mates, but the managers were greedy and for some reason they thought that we were making billions on it and we weren’t,” Sharon says [via NME].

“We made a profit. But it was not like – we couldn’t retire on it. And managers and agents wanted more and more and more, and it just wasn’t cost-effective anymore. We stopped because it just wasn’t cost-effective.”

She also recalls how a band once demanded extra money before their performance, saying: “Years and years ago, one of the bands – it was the second Ozzfest we did, or the third – wouldn’t go on stage until I agreed to give them 10,000 more dollars. And they were holding everything up, and I said, ‘Of course, of course I’ll give it you.’”

In the end though, Sharon says she “didn’t give them the money” as everyone involved had signed a contract and the band was just “gouging”.

Founded by the ex-Black Sabbath frontman and his wife Sharon, Ozzfest was first held in 1996 and has become one of the most prominent and enduring festivals in the heavy metal and hard rock music genres. The event continued annually almost every year until 2018.

Listen to the full podcast below.

In other news, despite his ongoing health struggles, Ozzy Osbourne has said that he hopes to make “one more album” and attempt to tour again next year.

The rocker told Metal Hammer that he is working on his 14th solo studio album — a follow-up to 2022’s Patient Number 9 —and is planning to start recording it in early 2024: “I want to take my time with this one,” he says.