Sharon Osbourne, President, Sharon Osbourne Management

– Sharon Osbourne

Sharon Osbourne

President, Sharon Osbourne Management

Sharon Osbourne has been the longtime manager of Ozzy Osbourne and at various times oversaw the careers of artists including Lita Ford, Motörhead, Smashing Pumpkins, Coal Chamber and Gary Moore. 

She’s had a long, colorful career and as one of the industry’s first women managers continues to be active managing her husband’s career through his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and the release of the acclaimed Ordinary Man in February. 

“That wasn’t me, that was Ozzy and Andrew [producer Andrew Watt], but to be associated with it is just amazing. I think the album is his best in years,” Osbourne says. She cites managing Ozzy, creating one of the first reality TV shows in “The Osbournes,” the Ozzfest tours and the Black Sabbath reunion album 13 and tour among her greatest accomplishments. 

She says never taking “no” for an answer has helped make her the success she is, but adds, “I’ve been pretty damn lucky that the artists that I’ve worked with over the years have been amazingly talented, all of them.” 

Osbourne acknowledges that the biggest roadblock for her as a woman in the live business has been seen the tendency of people to attribute her success to the men in her life. 

“I’ve said it many times, but being the daughter of [longtime manager Don Arden] and being the wife of [Ozzy], has been the biggest challenge. People love to put you in a box: ‘You’re here because of your dad; you’re here because of your husband.’ They love to do that.”

But she’s had a great female role model in her life, too: Universal Music Group EVP Michele Anthony. “Our lives are very parallel but the difference was, Michele decided to stay on and become a lawyer. She decided to go to UMG and did all the right things. And I left school at 15. But to have that background of being a lawyer, with her knowledge, is just immeasurable.” 

Osbourne believes it’s much easier for women to break into the music business now than it was for her. But some things never change: “You have to know what you’re doing. If you don’t know what you’re doing, then pay your dues and learn.”

HOT TAKES<

First show and favorite show of all time?
Oh my God. There’s so many, I’ve been so blessed to see so many amazing shows. Probably Sam Cook was one of my first. That just stays with me forever. I loved the Everly Brothers and I adored Freddie Mercury.

Who would you nominate for this list and why?
Ali McGregor at CAA.

New technology you use the most?
My iPhone. I’m always, always on my phone.

Where would you be found during a show?
At the side of the stage, or at the sound board.