Former Guns N’ Roses Manager Claims Axl Rose Now Takes 50% of Band’s Income and Seeks Total Control

Management Tensions with Axl Rose

The former GUNS N ‘ROSES manager claimed that Axl Rose is now taking 50 percent of the group’s income and “wants to control everything.”

Podcast Insights and Controversies

In promotion for his upcoming book Sound N ‘Fury: Rock N’ Roll Stories, Alan Niven, who managed the hard-rock group from 1986 to 1991, appeared on the podcast Appetite to Distortion, a show dedicated to all things Guns N ‘Roses.

The episode, released at the beginning of this month (April 2), openly discussed the group and his management. He candidly expressed his feelings about Axl Rose, accusing him of “controlling everything all the time.”

“This is an AXL control,” said Niven. “Here is another small picture that illuminates and goes to the formation of proper perception. AXL takes 50 percent of the income GUNS N ‘ROSES. 50 percent, okay? This is, for me, anathema. He is not Guns N ‘Roses.” Look at the full episode of the podcast below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFPNTFX48HM

“These were five people. It was chemistry. It was a moment,” he continued. “But Axl wants to control everything all the time. And see where that will lead you. Boring solo recordings and terrible punk -chekhlov. And that’s all.” NME has reached out to representatives of GUNS N ‘ROSES for comments.

Niven shared similar sentiments, recalling his days with the group in a 2012 interview with Metal Sludge. He recounted how Rose wanted to cancel his support slot on the 1987 Aerosmith tour, attributing it to his apparent stage fright.

“I sympathized with him, but I said, ‘Axl, look, I signed a collective order for five people as Guns N ‘Roses. My responsibility is to the organization, not to an individual,’” he recalled. In a public statement in 2013, Rose claimed he felt forced to go on the wildly successful “Use Your Illusion” tour in 1991, blaming Niven and Slash.

“In my opinion, Alan wanted money, and Slash wanted to tour, to overshadow me, given my circumstances at that time,” Rose stated. “My safety and well-being were not their concern.”

In 2022, a Classic Rock interview with Niven also revealed his criticisms of the singer and the band, which he labeled as “creatively impotent.”

“I have no hope or interest in the new Guns N ‘Roses album,” he told Classic Rock. “The charm of youth looks absurd at 60 years old. It’s a shame that they have been creatively impotent since 1991.”

Earlier this month, Niven recounted in a newer Classic Rock interview an incident where Slash and Izzy Stradlin once consumed drugs to avoid a bust at the airport. He remembered this incident occurring at Los Angeles International Airport when the group was preparing for their first tour of Japan.

In other news, Slash recently announced that he “will no longer be active” on X/Twitter following “repeated hacks” of his account.