Has the label washed their hands of Axl?

[Vincent Vega]

They invested around 14 mil in CD. They managed to recoup that with the Best Buy deal and then some. But Axl put them through a 10 year ride (1998 when CD first began to truly be recorded to 2008) with tons of stress, investment and headaches on both sides. Do you think in releasing CD, the label sort of washed their hands of Axl, and that's a part of why nothing has happened outside of touring in 5 years?

Combine the label not wanting to deal with Axl's perfectionism and demands, along with the fact that the GN'R brand isn't what it was in 1998 or even in 2002, that another record wouldn't really be a good investment on their part, and finally that Axl probably doesn't want to relive the "nightmare" that it was making CD....Maybe on both ends, both parties, Axl and the label, are just sort of "done" with each other?

[Cosmo]

Speaking of 'done with eachother', does anybody know when their contract's due?

[niceguy]

The brand-name "Guns n Roses" will always be backed by a major record label; there's just too much cache there. It's like KISS.

Record labels don't do much these days anyway. What are they doing for GNR right now? Nothing, really. Touring and merchandising is a separate venture, and the label has nothing to do with it.

Labels, by and large, advance money to artists in order to produce an album. As long as there is no new album, the labels have no expenses or profits with GNR, at all. The label doesn't collect anything from the band's touring profits.

[hellobeatle]

Let's add that his management team is a former nanny and her son, plus an assortment of burned out hangers on. If you were the fiduciary party responsible for handling the purse strings for the investors, would you sink millions of $ into a musician with the history you outlined above with the management group I just listed??

[T.wa.T]

They invested around 14 mil in CD. They managed to recoup that with the Best Buy deal and then some. But Axl put them through a 10 year ride (1998 when CD first began to truly be recorded to 2008) with tons of stress, investment and headaches on both sides. Do you think in releasing CD, the label sort of washed their hands of Axl, and that's a part of why nothing has happened outside of touring in 5 years?

Combine the label not wanting to deal with Axl's perfectionism and demands, along with the fact that the GN'R brand isn't what it was in 1998 or even in 2002, that another record wouldn't really be a good investment on their part, and finally that Axl probably doesn't want to relive the "nightmare" that it was making CD....Maybe on both ends, both parties, Axl and the label, are just sort of "done" with each other?

I think their both sick of each other by now.

Didn't the $14 million cover CD and a second album??

[supercool]

Maybe on both ends, both parties, Axl and the label, are just sort of "done" with each other?

probably

[niko]

The brand-name "Guns n Roses" will always be backed by a major record label; there's just too much cache there. It's like KISS.

Record labels don't do much these days anyway. What are they doing for GNR right now? Nothing, really. Touring and merchandising is a separate venture, and the label has nothing to do with it.

Labels, by and large, advance money to artists in order to produce an album. As long as there is no new album, the labels have no expenses or profits with GNR, at all. The label doesn't collect anything from the band's touring profits.

Thats not actually accurate, you have what is called "360 contracts" and the 90% of the music business today is on those. This means that while bands are touring / selling merch, the labels are still getting profits

[themadcaplaughs]

I'd assume that they more or less washed their hands of Axl back in 2004.

[Apollo]

I'd guess they are not through with Axl Rose and the "name" Guns n Roses..........but have washed their hands with trying to negotiate a deal with his current management team.

[Amir]

The brand-name "Guns n Roses" will always be backed by a major record label; there's just too much cache there. It's like KISS.

Record labels don't do much these days anyway. What are they doing for GNR right now? Nothing, really. Touring and merchandising is a separate venture, and the label has nothing to do with it.

Labels, by and large, advance money to artists in order to produce an album. As long as there is no new album, the labels have no expenses or profits with GNR, at all. The label doesn't collect anything from the band's touring profits.

Thats not actually accurate, you have what is called "360 contracts" and the 90% of the music business today is on those. This means that while bands are touring / selling merch, the labels are still getting profits

Yeah, but I think that's for newer artists, I don't think those were around when Axl last signed a contract with the label.

[gunsguy]

I do not think so, Axl and camp have been spending alot of time in NYC. The last time he spent this much time there was in 2008.

[prettytiedup88]

They invested around 14 mil in CD. They managed to recoup that with the Best Buy deal and then some. But Axl put them through a 10 year ride (1998 when CD first began to truly be recorded to 2008) with tons of stress, investment and headaches on both sides. Do you think in releasing CD, the label sort of washed their hands of Axl, and that's a part of why nothing has happened outside of touring in 5 years?

Combine the label not wanting to deal with Axl's perfectionism and demands, along with the fact that the GN'R brand isn't what it was in 1998 or even in 2002, that another record wouldn't really be a good investment on their part, and finally that Axl probably doesn't want to relive the "nightmare" that it was making CD....Maybe on both ends, both parties, Axl and the label, are just sort of "done" with each other?

Record labels release hundreds of albums from bands with very small followings. GNR still have a huge following globally in comparisson to alot of bands out there. The only thing the label has to do to not make it a risky investment is keep the costs of producing and releasing down in line with how they think the album will sell.

With CD they put the advance up during a time where people where still buying discs and the band and interest in new material was huge. They kept pumping in money to get the album out which is the labels fault not the bands and they very nearly got burnt when interest wained, reviews were mixed and it was the height of illegal downloading and leaks.

Any record label would jump at an album so long as Axl doesn't demand outrageous amounts to record and release it. Keep the costs minimal and there is money to be made on any GNR release.

Edited July 18, 2013 by prettytiedup88

[dalsh327]

All we know is the greatest hits lawsuit means they won't keep repackaging more GNR greatest hits albums.

If you take into account what GNR made over the years for Geffen & Interscope, Axl should have every right to do a 15 million dollar project without them bitching. They already made WAY more off his band from what they got off of combined sales over the years.

Michael Jackson spent twice as much as what Axl did for Invincible, which prob. did about the same as ChiDem did worldwide, but Michael did more to promote it, had the video, the big concert in NYC. Blame 9/11?

Axl may have taken a bath on Interscope's dime, but he made them a lot of dimes before then, they're his dimes as he sees it.

I also think the more you've read about Interscope and Jimmy's history of delaying releases & questionable "artistic" decisions, and from what Reznor and others had said about people who worked for Iovine, it became more clearer that there was more to it than Axl taking a decade and a half to put 14 fucking songs out. People in the Interscope org threw their own wrenches into the cogwheels.

For the most part, ChiDem might not be the album Axl originally envisioned, but the songs haven't been changed when they've performed them live, which means he's content with how they turned out. Bitching about the artwork - no one looks at album art unless they buy a Deluxe Edition or vinyl, or they go to websites.

I give the next album release 2 years tops, but I don't think he's going to do endless tweaking on them if most of it's releasable. But like I said, doing none of the unreleased songs live is kind of a concern. Maybe he'll just put all that stuff out there through the GNR website at some point for people to buy or just start posting song by song for a dollar each, the way Prince is doing this year.

[trqster]

New music from nostalgia act bands like Gn'R is only useful to keep the buzz on the band name and help promote the greatest hits tours that everybody wants to see. The album sales are not really that important these days with small margins and lots of piracy.

[phaeryen]

The label doesn't need GNR for anything.

GNR needs the label for everything.

There has been a world going on outside the GNR bubble. the record companies are so interested in this real world that they've sort of forgotten about GNR. It's 2010+something. GNR is a thing that happened 20 years ago. Sure, geffen and co. invested millions and all their hopes on album that didn't come. a label went bankcrupt, got swallowed by a bigger one, years went by, things changed, everyone forgot GNR.

The fan-made idea that the world of record companies are somehow really interested in what is happening with GNR is stupid. GNR is fringe now. Coldplay is the band which is of the caliber that a record company lives and dies if their records don't show. not GNR.

Sad, but a very real fact.

[ARX77]

The brand-name "Guns n Roses" will always be backed by a major record label; there's just too much cache there. It's like KISS.

Record labels don't do much these days anyway. What are they doing for GNR right now? Nothing, really. Touring and merchandising is a separate venture, and the label has nothing to do with it.

Labels, by and large, advance money to artists in order to produce an album. As long as there is no new album, the labels have no expenses or profits with GNR, at all. The label doesn't collect anything from the band's touring profits.

They make profit off the back catalog

[wasted]

Maybe Axl has decided not to put out any new music and just tour and have a good time.

[Crash Diet]

I do not think so, Axl and camp have been spending alot of time in NYC. The last time he spent this much time there was in 2008.

what about 2011?

[Russel Nash]

I do not think so, Axl and camp have been spending alot of time in NYC. The last time he spent this much time there was in 2008.

what about 2011?

Maybe negotiating the re-release? The last manager before TB was Katzis right? He was managing them in 2011?

[Nick83]

Maybe all this touring is to gain the credibility necessary to sign one of those contracts that splits all band revenue with the record or touring company etc. That would be in exchange for major promotion for future album releases. That would help make sure any new albums wont be flops.

[Cosmo]

I'm pretty sure Guns N' Roses has all the tools they need to get an album out. The label isn't interested? Change labels. Can't change? Release it independently, or just digitally. And I'm dure one big label out there would be interested. Guns N' Roses is a huge name. It's guaranteed to sell something, no matter how bad the album is. With the right promotion and ONE good song, a new album could sell very well, no matter how bad it is.

[T.wa.T]

I think the label still hopes for a reunion. That why they wont dump the name. $$$

[Nick85]

Maybe on both ends, both parties, Axl and the label, are just sort of "done" with each other?

probably

Yep. Why else is the next CD era album just sitting there collecting dust? Neither side is willing to budge, and who suffers for it? The fans.

Would be nice if either side of the fence gave a shit.

[rockerman]

One gets the feeling that given the HUGE delay in the 2000's just to get ONE album out and working with an oranization who's motivation is questionable...Im not sure I'd invest carte blanche in the illusion of this powerful progressive massive huge band that writes and records massive hits given what has been witnessed in the last 15 years...WITHOUT some measure of imput or control. Im betting they have any new music written and recorded locked up tight under contract and Axl is just playing them out. His money is in the tour and in the merchadising and GNR will go down that road so far into the future that it really wont make a difference.

[Apollo]

Maybe on both ends, both parties, Axl and the label, are just sort of "done" with each other?

probably

Yep. Why else is the next CD era album just sitting there collecting dust? Neither side is willing to budge, and who suffers for it? The fans.

Would be nice if either side of the fence gave a shit.

And SoFine hits a grandslam home run to win the game!!!!!!!!!!

The sad thing is that Axl's fans are the only loser - something that you'd think Axl/Beta and her children would care about.