In the aftermath of Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert and his subsequent death on July 22 at the age of 76, sales and streaming activity have skyrocketed for both his solo catalog and that of the band that launched his career, Black Sabbath.
Fans will continue to debate the pros and cons of Osbourne’s and Sabbath’s artistry, but what about their respective commercial success? Billboard estimates — based on Luminate data — reveal that who’s on top depends upon the measurement period and whether U.S. or global data is considered.
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Rockin’ Revenue
Since most recorded master and publishing catalogs are shopped based on three years of financial data, Billboard estimates for that most recent period show that Black Sabbath’s catalog has generated more revenue than Osbourne’s solo output.
The groundbreaking metal band’s recorded master catalog averaged $10.5 million annually from 2022 to 2024, while its publishing catalog averaged $3.4 million in royalties annually. That revenue resulted from the catalog averaging 455,000 album consumption units in the United States and 1.1 billion global streams.
Osbourne’s solo recorded master catalog generated an estimated $7.6 million annually for the same period, and his publishing brought in another $2.5 million based on his catalog averaging 435,000 U.S. album consumption units — relatively close to Black Sabbath’s total — and 794 million global streams.
The band’s international popularity — based on its global streaming strength — is the primary factor in its revenue dominance. Indeed, when global revenue is excluded from the estimates, Black Sabbath’s and Osbourne’s average annual revenue from U.S. recorded-music activity is similar: $4.8 million vs. $4.3 million, respectively.
How much of this revenue makes its way to Sabbath’s members and Osbourne depends upon the contracts they signed, but it’s worth noting that the band’s payday is split four ways, with Osbourne collecting a portion during the times he fronted the group, while he is likely the sole recipient of royalties from his solo work, minus what he pays his backing musicians.
Back to the Beginning Bump
Before the July 5 Back to the Beginning benefit concert in Black Sabbath’s hometown of Birmingham, England, the band’s year-to-date U.S. album consumption units through July 2 outpaced Osbourne’s solo work 241,000 to nearly 189,000. Since then, however, Osbourne’s catalog has closed the gap to 3,000 units — 373,000 to 370,000 — respectively.
In the two weeks between the concert and Osbourne’s death, both acts’ catalogs doubled in activity: Osbourne racked up nearly 17,000 units a week, or an increase of 129.4% from his weekly year-to-date, pre-concert average; Black Sabbath’s catalog nearly did the same, averaging 18,000 album consumption units during that period, or 96% growth.
Not surprisingly, momentum shifted following Osbourne’s death on July 22. Over the next two weeks — those ending July 24 and July 31 — his album consumption units exploded, averaging nearly 74,000 units, a 919.7% increase over the catalog’s weekly average through the first 26 weeks of the year.
Sales and streaming of the Black Sabbath catalog also mushroomed, but less than half as much as Osbourne’s. In the two-week period ended July 31, the band’s catalog averaged nearly 48,000 album consumption units, which represents 415.5% growth over the weekly average from the first half of 2025.
The Long Run
While a career sales and streaming comparison can’t be made because Luminate began tracking data in May 1991, almost 20 years after Black Sabbath released its first album, comparing the band’s and Osbourne’s catalog activity since then favors the latter.
Since 1991, Black Sabbath has released four studio albums while Osbourne put out eight, not including compilations, box sets and live recordings. But only Osbourne has released a studio album in the last five years, Patient No. 9 in 2022.
What an artist does to promote a career — touring; issuing new recordings; TV, film and commercial synchs; and media exposure such as a reality TV series (The Osbournes ran from 2002 to 2005) — can spur sales and streaming activity, which may help explain why Osbourne is the clear winner when U.S. album consumption units for that period are measured: 22.7 million compared with Black Sabbath’s 14.3 million.
The story is much different when a global perspective is considered. Since 2018, when Luminate began tracking streams globally, Black Sabbath’s catalog has generated 7.1 billion streams as of July 31, while Osbourne’s catalog totals 5.7 billion streams.
This story appears in the Aug. 16, 2025, issue of Billboard.
