Leave it to Sharon to revive an old idea. That's right, CK. Your youthfulness (a complement) means you don't remember the good ol' days when lots of bands performed "free concerts in the park" throughout the summers. And these were, at the time, rock's biggest and best.

That was back in the day when the brand of rock was about rebelling against the status quo, not about becoming rich and famous and creating the status quo within the genre. But you don't have to go back any further than the '90s to find the concept. Pearl Jam and other grundge bands frequently performed free.

What's unique about Ozzfest is that the entire summer tour will be free. And, yes, we metal guys will be there.

Heavy-metal Lew: I've been to 1-day festivals where the only price of admission was the "ticket processing fee" but Ozzfest hasn't gone free yet...and yep, it will be free all summer long. I'm looking forward to hearing which big bands sign-on and if attendance soars or remains flat. On that note, I shall see you at the show ;-).

I'm not a fan, but this looks like a stroke of brilliance. I'm looking forward to reading a case study about it once it's all over.

Cam: I'm actually not a huge fan either but I will look to attend the show when they announce a NY date. Call it market research :-).

Actually, that's not true...I'm a HUGE fan of Sharon Osbourne. She is so marketing savvy and strong. The reality show was her idea as is this concert format it appears.

Like you, CK, I love that this model is forging new ground -- and that some seasoned individuals are behind it. And I agree with you Cam -- it'll be interesting to see how this plays out, and whether others bands and businesses adopt a similar model. For example, I've thought for a long time that movie theater tickets should be free (or almost-free)... considering what concessions charge.

p.s. Does Ozzy actually play at Ozzfest? I always thought it was the lesser-knowns on stage more than the big names?

Ann: Ozzy is at his show for sure. It's Ozzy, a few big names and then a lot of "little guys". This tour is big since he's gone completely free of price AND free of drugs. We'll see if both fronts hold to free throughout the tour.

I also think it's great that Ozzy has committed to do the entire tour. And that the tour will feature an Alice In Chains reunion. That's a great foundation to sign other acts off of.

I think that most concertgoers will spend at least as much on merch that they would have spent on a ticket. They'll have a 'mental calculator' going. One sponsor that needs to jump on this is Instant Live. The company produces CDs of the concerts they are set up at, and sells the CDs about 15 mins after the concert ends. I believe they also offer the shows as downloadable MP3s. These CDs would be huge sellers on a free tour such as this.

Great idea and great post CK. I think the tour will have some heavy-lifting to do to get to the point where it makes more money free than it did as pay, but the more word-of-mouse it gets, the better!

I've never been a big Ozzy fan, and when I see him interviewed on TV, I have to struggle to understand what he's slurring.

That aside, I do think this is an interesting approach to touring. I'm not thrilled about the participating bands having to pay $75,000 to be in it. That eliminates a lot of good bands, and you can't count on record labels to foot the cost anymore.

But by knocking out the cost for fans (or even lowering it a lot), I'd think it will be a hit, in terms of attendance at least. And if it means even more commercialism at the shows, that probably won't be a problem. Rock fans have become used to it.

We'll see.

"For example, I've thought for a long time that movie theater tickets should be free (or almost-free)... considering what concessions charge."

I've always thought that there is a market for a theater chain that charges a flat fee for a movie ticket, along with a drink and one candy item, or popcorn. But the key is, the theater and bathrooms stay IMMACULATELY clean. Even if it means losing screenings to take time out to clean inbetween showings. I think if everyone paid a flat fee up front, and the theaters were clean and comfortable, that it would be a hit.

I've never gone, myself - but my friends who have were discussing this over the weekend. Although they thought the concept was cool, they were worried that good bands won't sign up because it has already been announced as free.

They've gone to Ozzfest a few times, and they're not going to see Ozzy (who they have seen perform at it) - they're going for the great other bands.

So we'll see. I expect that a lot of decisions to go will be last-minute, as opposed to before, where you took a day off for it and planned way in advance. Are most of the dates on the weekend? That will help the decision along.

Hey Mack, don't get me started re. movie theater operators and their prices. It burns me up that you have to pay $10+ (here in NY, anyway) and they still bombard you with commercials before the show. I resent that so much, and I used to drive my wife crazy by saying I won't go to this theater or that one because they show commercials. Now they all do, so I'm stuck.

As for concession prices, I bring in a can of Diet Coke in my pocket.

But I digress.

One other thought: My guess is that a show like this would "sell" out almost instantly.... how can the Great Oz control ticket distribution? Or hoarding? Would a number wind up being sold anyway..? On eBay? On the street outside the 'fest?

Second other thought: Compare this approach with tickets to this summer's Police reunion tour. I tried to get tickets for their Boston appearance at Fenway Park... but to get on the list for tickets I first had to join The Police fan club for $100... THEN I could pay upwards of $100/ticket. Thanks... but I'm full.

Ann,

Welcome to the headbangers ball. My guess, it's all general admission, come early, camp out, stay late, and sharpen those elbows baby. Just like old times in the '60s and '70s-Black Sabbath and crank it up.

David I forgot about the commercials at the theater, that was part of it as well. Say charge $15-18 for a ticket, medium coke, and your choice of medium popcorn or a candy item. In return, you get a spotless and comfortable theater and restroom, and NO COMMERCIALS.

I think it would be a hit. Not even sure if it's feasible for theaters to dump the ads, but would be nice if they could.

Ann I think they are going to allot a certain number of tickets to fans that have signed up through their website, I assume on a first-come/first-served basis.

BTW if you want to sign up for email notifications for when you can get tix, here's the link:
http://www.ozzfest.com/globalsignup.html?sid=748459086

I;m not sure we are still talking about Ozzfest or whether the subject has changed to movies, but for those with questions about how Ozzfest will work, here is the latest from the official site:

"More Ozzfest 07 info will be released by the end of the first week in March! As far as making sure you get your FREE OZZFEST tickets, your first step is signing up to Ozzfest.com to receive email notifications. You will then be sent all the band, date and ticket info when it is released. Stay tuned, more coming soon!!

Jessica: You hit on yet another metric that will need to be measured at the last minute--in every city, as momentum builds...the bands signing up. I do not know if 75k is tenable for them. My guess is "yes" since they've paid those fees in the past.

Ann: They've not yet announced the ticketing process but I would think that everyone would need to show I.D. to claim their ticket. The Ozzfest site is not annoucing details until March.

David: I didn't mind the "targeted trailers". When there were like 5 of them. It's unbelievable now; I agree.

CK, I don't have a problem with trailers (coming attractions) at the movie theater, in fact, they can be fun.

I mean outright commercials -- sometimes the same commercials we see on TV at home. It annoys me that we pay a lot of money to go to the movies, and then we're forced to sit in a dark theater and watch commercials. I woul;dn't care if they have ads running on TV screens inthe lobby area,or even in the bathrooms. But not on the big screen in thje dark, when I am pretty much FORCED to watch.

Grrr.

Sharon is brilliant!

The record companies will be more than happy to foot the $75,000 so the band will be more indebted to them.

I've actually been pushing for this model for a couple years now for a Denton festival I ran back in college. We've been dealing with the same sort of things since I "retired," less people, increasing prices, bla bla (although we were still peaking at about 20k back when I was involved, and yes, I'll pat myself on the back for that).

But it just makes too much sense. The healthiness of any festival is largely dependent on the number of people showing up. The more people show up, the more those eyeballs can be monetized, for both the artists and the promoters. I'm glad to see Ozzie getting out on the forefront of this.

I'm willing to bet that their biggest problem will be where to put all the people...

Tammy: well said.

Paul: 20k is awesome for turnout, do pat yourself on the back for sure. I think Ozzy wants the problem of too many people (vs. too few) and it will be interesting to see how they'll award the tickets (as info. won't be released until March). I do very much like this model as well.