Music has taken another step toward becoming a free commodity after Ozzy Osborne announced that his OZZFEST metal festival will be a free event in 2007.
Ozzy, his wife Sharon and tour producer Live Nation are referring to the 25-date festival as "FreeFest", after announcing the decision in Los Angeles on Monday.Now in its 12th year, OZZFEST is the premier heavy music festival in North America. Sharon Osborne said she believed summer touring in the United States was "out-pricing itself", so instead of charging bigger amounts for tickets, the festival decided to go for bigger sponsorship deals.
"For the last few years," Sharon explained, "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."
Ozzy himself will be headlining the main stage at this year's event, as he prepares to release his first album of new material since 2001. OZZFEST kicks off in Los Angeles on July 7.
