Sharon Osbourne Explains Why Ozzfest Came to an End

Ozzfest was a huge part of the rock and metal community throughout the late ’90s and early 2000s, as it really helped a lot of bands jumpstart their careers. During the latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast, Sharon Osbourne explained why the annual festival ended.

The inaugural Ozzfest took place across two days in October of 1996, and the following year, it became a tour rather than a one-time event. From that point on, Ozzfest took place almost every year until 2018, though it was reverted back to a single-day event in 2008. The festival took place in a couple of different cities in 2010, but every other year, it was limited to one location.

The final installment of the festival took place on New Year’s Eve in 2018 in Inglewood, California. Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Jonathan Davis, Body Count, Zakk Sabbath, DevilDriver and Wednesday 13 were the performers.

Sharon Osbourne created Ozzfest, so in the new episode of the Osbourne family’s podcast, she explained why it came to an end.

“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. 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 elaborated.

Sharon then recalled that during the second or third year of Ozzfest, one band refused to go onstage to perform unless she gave them an additional $10,000. She agreed to their request, as they were disrupting the flow of the rest of the festival. Jack Osbourne questioned which act she was referring to, and she eventually revealed that it was Danzig.

“And then they went on and played, and I didn’t give them the money. I went, ‘Fuck you. You signed a contract, your agent agreed it, and you’re just gouging,'” Sharon continued.

See the full episode below.