15-04-2025
Former Guns N' Roses manager claims Axl Rose now takes 50% of the band's income
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Former Guns N' Roses manager Alan Niven has claimed that frontman Axl Rose now collects 50% of the band's income. Niven was speaking with Appetite For Distortion, the Guns N' Roses-themed podcast hosted by Brando Weissle.
"It's a control thing with Axl," says Niven. "Here's another little snapshot that is illuminating and goes to forming a correct perception. Axl takes 50% of the income of Guns N' Roses now. 50%, okay? That, to me, is anathema. He is not Guns N' Roses.
"They were five individuals. It was a chemistry. It was a moment. But Axl wants to be in control of everything all the time. And look what that gets you. A boring solo record and a shitty thing of punk covers. And that's it."
Niven is presumably referring to the last two Guns N' Roses albums, 1993's covers album, "The Spaghetti Incident?", and 2008's famously long-awaited Chinese Democracy.
This isn't the first time Niven – who managed Guns N' Roses from 1986 to 1991 and oversaw their chaotic rise to prominence – has criticised Axl Rose.
"I have no hope of, or interest in, a new Guns N' Roses album," he told Classic Rock in 2022. "The tantrums of youth look absurd on a 60-year-old. It's a shame they have been creatively impotent since 1991."
Alan Niven's book Sound N' Fury: Rock N' Roll Stories is published on June 24 and can be pre-ordered now.
Guns N' Roses' Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things Tour kicks off at Songdo Moonlight Park in Incheon, South Korea, on May 1. Full dates below.
May 01: Incheon Songdo Moonlight Park, South KoreaMay 05: Yokohama K Arena, JapanMay 10: Taoyuan Sunlight Arena, TaiwanMay 13: Bangkok Thunderdome Stadium, ThailandMay 17: Mumbai Mahalaxmi Racecourse, IndiaMay 23: Riyadh Kingdom Arena, Saudi ArabiaMay 27: Abu Dhabi Etihad Arena, UAEMay 30: Shekvetili Parka, Georgia^Jun 02: Istanbul Tüpraş Stadyumu, Turkey^Jun 06: Coimbra Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Portugal^Jun 09: Barcelona Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, SpainJun 12: Florence Firenze Rocks, Italy*^Jun 15: Hradec Kralove Rock For People, Czech Republic*^Jun 18: Dusseldorf Merkur Spiel-Arena, Germany^Jun 20: Munich Allianz Arena, Germany^Jun 23: Birmingham Villa Park, UKJun 26: London Wembley Stadium, UKJun 29: Aarhus Eskelunden, Denmark+Jul 02: Trondheim Granåsen Ski Centre, Norway+Jul 04: Stockholm Strawberry Aren, Sweden+Jul 07: Tampere Ratina Stadium, Finland+Jul 10: Kaunas Darius and Girėnas Stadium, Lithuania+Jul 12: Warsaw PGE Nardowy, Poland+Jul 15: Budapest Puskás Aréna, Hungary+Jul 18: Belgrade Ušće Park, Serbia+Jul 21: Sofia Vasil Levski Stadium, Bulgaria+Jul 24: Vienna Ernst Happel Stadion, Austria#Jul 28: Luxembourg Open Air, Luxembourg#Jul 31: Wacken Festival, Germany*
* = Festival appearance+ = with Public Enemy^ = with Rival Sons# = with Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter
Tickets are on sale now.
