The debate over the cultural relevance and staying power of rock music has been ongoing for years, but Sharon Osbourne is officially putting the argument to rest. The legendary music manager, television personality, and widow of heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne recently spoke at the MIDEM 2026 conference in Cannes, France, on February 6, where she passionately defended the genre’s enduring legacy.
Addressing skeptics who question if younger generations still care about guitar-driven music, Osbourne made it clear that rock is built on a foundation that trends simply cannot touch.
“ It’s amazing to me that people still are saying, ‘Rock music, will it continue? Will it last?’ It’s not disco. It’s not a gimmick music. It is from the soul. And that’s why you just have to, have to keep it going and give these bands a platform, the new talent a platform, because, for me, it’ll, it’ll never go away. And there’s nothing like seeing bands playing their own instruments,” she said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
She went on to contrast the authentic artistry of rock bands with manufactured pop acts, while also criticizing out-of-touch music industry executives and mainstream media outlets for consistently dismissing the heavy music scene.
“I always hated boy bands because they just would sing and dance, and it’s, like, ‘What are you doing?’ It’s silly,” she continued. “And you see these guys making the sounds that they make from a piece of wood and strings and you go, ‘How on earth did they do that solo?’ And the same with the drummer, the bass player. And it is a great art form that, unfortunately, people look at it as the b**tard of the industry: ‘You’re b**tards. Nobody wants you.’ And that’s people that are not on the street. They’re removed from the street. They’re in their offices, they’re in their chauffeur-driven cars. They don’t get what is actually happening. And two, the press. is very against it — mainstream press. ‘Cause they just want the next big thing. That’s all they ever wanna write about. So it’s been hard. But also now seeing all those bands that started in late ’90s still going. They’re filling stadiums now.
Pivoting to the current state of the industry, Osbourne highlighted how drastically the business model has shifted. With streaming payouts remaining dismally low and physical album sales plummeting, she emphasized that the true lifeblood of the modern music world is live performance.
“I think it’s all about live shows. It really is. ‘Cause the record industry is so tiny right now. A friend of mine had a No. 3 album in the charts just before Christmas, and I said, ‘How many did you sell?’ 8,000 to get a No. 3 album at that time of year. I mean, it’s minute. And all of the streaming services are great, but first of all, the money that the artist gets is nothing; it’s a joke. And it’s ruined that whole thing of discovering a body of work in an album… You get what that band’s about by listening to the whole album, not just a track that you think is good or whatever. The music industry now is touring. That’s what it’s about.”
Sharon Osbourne knows the power of touring better than almost anyone. She was the driving force behind Ozzfest, the massive traveling festival that ran from 1996 until 2018. The tour was famously created after the Lollapalooza festival refused to book Ozzy Osbourne.
Taking matters into her own hands, she launched a short initial run in California and Arizona featuring heavyweights like Slayer, Danzig, Biohazard, and Sepultura. Over the years, Ozzfest became a crucial launching pad for countless up-and-coming and underground acts, including Earth Crisis, Drain STH, Puya, Ultraspank, Kilgore, and Monster Voodoo Machine.
Reflecting on the festival’s legacy in a recent interview with Billboard magazine, she summarized its core mission:
“It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people. We really started metal festivals in this country. It was [replicated but] never done with the spirit of what ours was, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids.”
It was reported yesterday that Sharon announced new edition of the Ozzfest touring festival. She confirmed it was in the works for 2027.
During the same February 6 appearance at MIDEM 2026, Sharon stated: “ Yes, absolutely. Yeah, we’re gonna do it.”
She continued: “Well, the last one we did was 2018. It was just a month before Ozzy got sick, and that was at the Forum in L.A. And there was no plans to stop it. We were still gonna do it, but Ozzy couldn’t. And Ozzy and I would talk about it, and he’d say, ‘Do you think Ozzfest would work without me?’ And I’m, like, ‘Yeah, it’s a brand. It will work without you.’ And he said, ‘We should do it.'”
