Rocker Ozzy Osbourne is set to play 25 dates across the US for the 2007 Ozzfest tour and get this - all tickets will be free. Manager/wife Sharon Osbourne has struck a deal with sponsors who will cover the costs of the tour.
"Everybody has been so good to us over the years, and year after year ticket prices get higher and higher and higher. We just thought we can't keep on raising ticket prices because there is not that much money out there anymore," Sharon said. "Hey, kids can go online and download music, why not go to a show for free too? What the heck?"
"Ozzy's got a new record coming out this year, he'll be touring the whole year. There is plenty of time to make money."
Fans will still have to get tickets, which they will get through links at www.Ozzfest.com or www.LiveNation.com that will take them to sponsor sites.
Ozzy will be the headliner but the rest of the lineup has not yet been announced. The festival will begin July 7 in Los Angeles, with other dates for other cities to be announced later.
"It's free to get in, but we're charging you to get out," Ozzy quipped after spray-painting the word "Free" on an Ozzfest banner during the press conference.
"To see the crowd, it's just magic, man, and I love them," Ozzy said. "I'm not one of these rock and rollers that go, 'They are privileged to see me.' I'm privileged to see them. Because without them — this is why we are doing it for free — without them, none of us have got a chance."
