The organizers behind the 2007 edition of Ozzfest have announced that this summer's tour will be free. The long-running tour will be selling no tickets and instead is planning to enlist sponsors to fund the tour.

The news is even more surprising as the event is the top-grossing festival tour of all time, and second only to the Warped Tour for longevity. Sharon Osbourne explained:

We're reaching the same point we did years ago when kids no longer wanted to pay for overpriced CDs. As a result, they found alternative ways of getting music. That’s what’s happening with summer touring in this country, it’s out-pricing itself. We started this and we want to keep it and we want to make it bigger and bigger each year by getting bigger sponsors to be involved with the festival and underwriting the festival. That’s what it’s about.

The plan is for interested showgoers to visit to special sponsor sites where tickets can be secured. More details regarding the process are forthcoming.

As a result, OzzFest 2007 will likely lean toward more up-and-coming hard-rock/metal acts.

They will not be paid, but can book their own shows in local venues on the day of the festival.

We know there aren't any major headlining acts that would tour all summer for nothing, but we're confident some of the genres biggest bands will play a date or two.

So you need to "secure" tickets instead of "purchase" them.

Which means the scalpers aren't out of business just yet.

I still need to see the lineup before I pass.

Critics have leveled some heavy charges against Ozzfest after yesterday's announcement of a free Ozzfest this summer. The problems began when founder Ozzy Osbourne described the festivals previous financial problems as due to "artists demanding more and more money for summer tours" and the ensuring rumour that the event actually charged new acts in the vicinity of $75,000 for a slot on the tour in previous years.

Established music publication CMJ argues that the event will force artists to depend entirely on already venue-taxed merch sales to cover their costs:

In fact, whereas Ozzfest allegedly required an investment from these up-and-coming acts, they now simply require that the bands agree to play for merch money.

Furthermore, while the festival now allows band's to perform in the same city even the same day as the festival, the article describes this as a "crafty manipulation" arguing that no one will pay for a show after a free performance takes place the same day.

Catalyst News Network goes even further, accusing the organizers of "sucking the lifeblood from young artists" and concludes that "Art is truly being used to promote corporate profits -- while the artists, once again get screwed. "

It should be noted that very few details on the financial arrangements of the festival have been announced, but these allegations, if true, could pose very real problems for artists aiming for a position in summer's festival tours.