Do you think Interscope takes Team Brazil seriously?

[Roush]

here's the mentality of team brazil, though.

judging by their comments, reactions, and modus operandi over the years. i bet they will gloss over the positive feedback, and magnetize towards the negative commentary. they will focus on it, those comments will confirm their doubts, and then out of fear/cognitive dissonance -- they will generalize all the comments they don't like as either "not in the know", or "trolling".

when in reality, we may not be sitting there, sipping white russians with fernando during band meetings. but we are in the know due to axl, and team brazil laying out their laundry to dry. tweets, rants, and text messages from camp beta are (unintentional) exposés of the unprofessionalism most bands/managers would usually hide. that's the first peek behind the curtain. there is no acumen, diplomacy, or tact. just an erratic explosion of filterless outrage.

so here's the point i'm coming to. your fans are assholes at times, they can be assholes. you can't. life isn't fair. i know. but it works out that way because you're getting paid. your fans aren't.

[dalsh327]

Most of the people Axl had to deal with 5 years anymore prob. aren't even there anymore. It would be like going to a new label for the band.

[magisme]

If you think business people these days aren't taught about the importance of social media and public perception and you think that it doesn't matter how business people interact in such formats, you are out of touch in the extreme.

Edited August 31, 2013 by magisme

[vaida]

Back in the day when GN'R were huge, and made decent music (i'll move on..)

Axl is on record as saying 'fuck normal', in the context he is a rock star, not doing a normal/boring job, doing what he chooses to do, all be it through rock n'roll.

Maybe having your nanny run your band ticks all the right boxes for Rose.

It's has to be said, the GN'R towel's etc make zero sense.

Now that's one video i'd love to watch, the meeting where they discussed the GN'R towel complete with new logo. Heh

I still find it unbelievable that they could release an album with such a f-cked up booklet. Who's job was it to check before going to print ?

Seems so amateurish at times..

To be fair, Beta's lasted longer than most.

Maybe her day will come, along with Team Brazil, when the cheque's stopped arriving, and the penny drops - they are all fired!

Edited August 31, 2013 by vaida

[SoulMonster]

I find it strange that people assume TB can't be professional. Is it because Beta is a woman? Is it because she used to be a nanny? Learning the ropes only takes a few years and she was Axl's PA for a long time. Surely she must have picked up a lot of the business then.

because she PROVE it with unprofessional behaviour and "paranoid" moves (censoring things for Axl etc.)

Yeah, I was talking theoretically. I admit they have displayed professional weaknesses... BUT, the important things are still whether they can facilitate Axl's plans and not whether they are good at PR. I am crossing my fingers. It's looking good re: the touring.

[stumbleine]

Of course they don't.

Axl is the only one who doesn't understand that Team Brazil is the root cause of everything wrong in his professional life,

Interscope probably looks at TB as a cancer within GNR, and the less that is heard or seen of them in their eyes the better.

I know.

[Bobbo]

Quite honestly? No, I don't. Because I think they see them from the same perspective we do: they realize Axl was difficult for many years and that they offered him many managers and that he ultimately jettisoned some of the leading managers of the music industry in favor of someone whose prior job was literally being a house maid, and someone who wouldn't feel compelled to try to do what was better for the label. Beta does what is better for Axl. Or, rather: what Axl thinks is better for Axl. That's the problem: a good manager works both sides and makes compromises and meets on a middle ground. By hiring Team Brazil, Axl effectively made it all about him and his own personal deires. So why would the label feel compelled to indulge them? If Axl were still 20-something and a hot ticket then they'd cater to every whim of his, but the fact is he's not at that level anymore, and the label probably realizes a reunion tour is their biggest incentive. I think MSL talks a big game sometimes but I do actually believe him when he says that the band turned in a record in 2010 and the label rejected it -- Chinese Democracy was ultimately only released out of contractual obligation and because of its mythical history; I'm not sure Geffen/Interscope has any incentive to release another GN'R record under the current lineup for the reasons I mentioned above.

I'm not saying I want that, btw. I obviously would love to see Slash, Duff and all of them make amends and play together again. But I'm also very happy with Tommy and Ron and co. I just want new music, period.

Agree with nearly everything. This is where the thread should have ended.

[axlrod]

I don't (or I hope anyway) that it has anything to do with Beta being a woman. Sharon Osbourne broke that barrier years ago, though I'm sure a stigma still exists in the industry. Most of the heavy-hitters are male, and maybe that's why it was Fernando who took over the reigns of the meeting (making an assumption it was Interscope) as opposed to Beta. She was the main negotiator behind the Activision deal. And we see how well that turned out for them.

The main issue in my mind is the lack of overall professionalism. How many tweets have we ever seen by managers like Merck or Azoff that say 'suck my dick cunt'? When you don't piss TB off and chat for 6 minutes back stage after a gig, I'm sure they can act like lovely people. But the business end of it is a whole different animal. If their attitude towards fans are a reflection of how they behave if something doesn't go their way, why shouldn't we assume that same level of professionalism isn't displayed in their other dealings?

dude...if u attack them they'll attack back, its unprofessional but dont forget fernando grew up watching random people on the internet saying awful stuff about his mother. They dont say "suck my dick" to interscope and they dont say it to the fans who talk to them in a nice way.

Fernando never went up to a fan and said hey suck my dick motherfucker. He is the one who gets attacked first... and im not defending TB but it is what it is.

There are other ways to respond to negativity and attacks. He represents a multi-million dollar brand. There is an expectation of professionalism when he's in that capacity, yes, especially when it comes to dealing with fans of the group he's become the spokesman for. He's not on a basketball court fooling around with friends saying 'suck my dick', as a joke, this is how he chose to respond on the world wide web, for everyone to see. You don't think it reflects on what kind of person he is, and how other people in the business may view him? That's naïve. You can't make excuses for his actions, not in the business world.

P4A is spot on.

When you put yourself in a position like Fernando has, you can't act the way he has acted. I understand that he has a personal connection to Axl and the band and takes things personally, and reacts emotionally.

But that's probably one of the best examples of why he shouldn't be managing the band.

I say this not with malice or an intent to offend Fernando or anyone associated with TB. It's just my own opinion. I think they've made a lot of mistakes from a PR angle. I don't think it's ever a good idea for someone with a personal affiliation to get involved with something like this. It's why lawyers usually don't represent their family members in big court cases, or why cops aren't allowed to be involved with cases involving family members. It's not an insult against those guys or an implication that they can't do their job, but inevitably your personal, emotional connection will have some kind of impact on your work. And this is precisely what has happened with the mismanagement of GN'R since TB took over.

Mismanagement?

Axl claimed that they've been doing great things in the past few years, I know you read some of them.

Compare the situation 15 years ago vs. 4 years ago, then judge mismanagement.

Professionalism should never be attached to GNR in general.

[ClaudeF]

I think the band, to some degree, is in a hole of its own digging.

For years, people looked at a GNR record as a proven savior of rock & roll radio, as well as a perpetual cash cow and means of selling concert tickets at huge venues.

The 2002 tour of North America showed the first cracks. When I saw them in Tacoma at what turned out to be the opening night of the tour following the cancellation/riot in Vancouver, half of the venue was curtained off due to unsold seats (They'd sold 6,166 tickets, a figure I was able to confirm on site by talking to someone working that night - they showed me paperwork). Yes, much is made of the Madison Square Garden sell-out, but overall the tour revealed that North America had stopped waiting for and wondering about GNR's new music. When the rest of the tour got axed, it revived the old complaints about Axl's unprofessionalism and opened the band to rumors that they'd cancelled the shows due to poor attendance. By not playing, they never proved otherwise.

People still held out hope for the album becoming as big as Appetite/UYI, and we all know how well that went. How many copies of ChiDem did you buy at the dollar store, or at Best Buy for $1.99?

Playing theaters is pleasing to fans like us, but also a safe guarantee of sell-outs. Paul McGuinness, the manager of U2, once said he underbooked the band to make sure that every town it played to was a capacity crowd. Whether or not one fan or a thousand were left ticketless didn't matter so much as the perception that U2 was in-demand. This isn't callous, it's smart. GNR should do the same, and yet it frequently plays venues well beyond its ability to sell tickets, at least in the U.S.A. That this plan has backfired, resulting in unsold tickets being hawked at slashed prices on Groupon, is as tacky as it is sad. Again, the world is reminded that GNR is not as popular as it once was.

Take Team Brazil out of the equation. Given the band's present stature as a touring entity and recoding group, how seriously would you take GNR in the year 2013? Yes, we love the band and circle like vultures when even the rumor of new music comes up, but are our numbers sufficient anymore for Interscope or anyone to care?

Edited August 31, 2013 by ClaudeF

[kanudo19]

What you guys seem to forget is that there isn't any maid managing guns n roses...there's a woman who was once (and a long time ago) a maid. Did a video store clerk directed django, pulp fiction...etc ?

[RussTCB]

What you guys seem to forget is that there isn't any maid managing guns n roses...there's a woman who was once (and a long time ago) a maid. Did a video store clerk directed django, pulp fiction...etc ?

The point you're making is very valid but keeps getting chosen to be ignored.

[Young_Gun]

What you guys seem to forget is that there isn't any maid managing guns n roses...there's a woman who was once (and a long time ago) a maid. Did a video store clerk directed django, pulp fiction...etc ?

The 'video store clerk' had watched literally thousands of movies, took drama and acting classes and was an avid film fan. That all amounted to experience and knowledge on films. Beta has does have some experience with managing Axl's affairs but I doubt they are comparable to the likes of a real manager.

[magisme]

There's a difference between becoming an expert and working up the ranks on the one hand and leeching off an emotional cripple to the point where you virtually blackmail him into making you manager on the other.

[ThinkAboutYou]

I don't care who the management is if they deliver on their promises I'm happy

[trqster]

TB will soon be managing the best nostalgia act bands in the world - Gn'R is just for warming up. Labels pay attention!

[Young_Gun]

There's a difference between becoming an expert and working up the ranks on the one hand and leeching off an emotional cripple to the point where you virtually blackmail him into making you manager on the other.

BOOM@!

[ThinkAboutYou]

I would like to see at least the promises they have made so far happen

3D Cinema screening then the Topps cards (people actually receive the cards) then New Nightrain package and then CD2

[Guest]

[kanudo19]

There's a difference between becoming an expert and working up the ranks on the one hand and leeching off an emotional cripple to the point where you virtually blackmail him into making you manager on the other.

why do you guys keep on with the blackmail shit... you being tired of watching a friend getting fucked by greedy managers and telling him to stop hiring them and that you and ur family will manage him or else u'll stop helping him is nothing like blackmail! It's just you getting tired and saying "no more outsiders who don't care about you, we as a family will manage the band and do everything u tell us too...you want a tour ? we book it, you want a new member? we find it... bla bla bla"

Is that hard to understand ?

You guys really like to twist everything and turn it into a bad thing.

[Young_Gun]

There's a difference between becoming an expert and working up the ranks on the one hand and leeching off an emotional cripple to the point where you virtually blackmail him into making you manager on the other.

why do you guys keep on with the blackmail shit... you being tired of watching a friend getting fucked by greedy managers and telling him to stop hiring them and that you and ur family will manage him or else u'll stop helping him is nothing like blackmail! It's just you getting tired and saying "no more outsiders who don't care about you, we as a family will manage the band and do everything u tell us too...you want a tour ? we book it, you want a new member? we find it... bla bla bla"

Is that hard to understand ?

You guys really like to twist everything and turn it into a bad thing.

Sorry man but they did threaten to leave him if he hired another manager.... No way around that. He was forced into it.

[magisme]

It's exactly like blackmail. I won't even bother discussing it it's so obvious.

[kanudo19]

they threaten to leave him because they were tired of picking him up everytime he was fucked by someone...you all know how emotional axl is, that's common knowledge, now imagine 20 years of dealing with his emotional problems every time things didnt go out as planned...the gnr managers dont care about axl, they're with him because he pays them! So they said that , because with them managing the band they know his safe from being stabbed in the back by other managers. it's not blackmail... if u had a friend who was always making the same mistakes all over again and u always had to help him out i think that one day you would go up to him and say "hey if you don't do this or that i'll leave and never help you again"...that's not "blackmail", that's you taking extreme measures to help a friend.

But you guys are to fucking dumb to understand that, im surprised you havent got a phone call to star in "dumb and dumber too" ffs

[volcano62]

they threaten to leave him because they were tired of picking him up everytime he was fucked by someone...you all know how emotional axl is, that's common knowledge, now imagine 20 years of dealing with his emotional problems every time things didnt go out as planned...the gnr managers dont care about axl, they're with him because he pays them! So they said that , because with them managing the band they know his safe from being stabbed in the back by other managers. it's not blackmail... if u had a friend who was always making the same mistakes all over again and u always had to help him out i think that one day you would go up to him and say "hey if you don't do this or that i'll leave and never help you again"...that's not "blackmail", that's you taking extreme measures to help a friend.

But you guys are to fucking dumb to understand that, im surprised you havent got a phone call to star in "dumb and dumber too" ffs

Great stuff man it's too bad everyone seems to ignore facts

[Young_Gun]

they threaten to leave him because they were tired of picking him up everytime he was fucked by someone..

True friends and family stick around no matter what, where or when. They don't give an ultimatum to an emotionally unstable individual. You think Axl wasn't giving Beta remuneration for all her years of being with him? They live in a mansion with him, in Malibu, going around the world, tour with a major rock band etc. You make it like they were there for free all these years.

Edited August 31, 2013 by Young_Gun

[magisme]

But you guys are to fucking dumb to understand that, im surprised you havent got a phone call to star in "dumb and dumber too" ffs

Like I said, not gonna discuss it. But just FYI, the first "to" in your sentence should be "too." And the "too" in the film title should be "to."

You're welcome.

Edited August 31, 2013 by magisme