Axl Rose Receives 50% of Guns N’ Roses Income, Says Former Manager Alan Niven

Alan Niven, who managed Guns N’ Roses during their formative years from 1986 to 1991, recently shared behind-the-scenes insights into the band’s inner workings in a candid interview on the “Appetite for Distortion” podcast.

During the two-hour conversation, Niven spoke openly about the band’s frontman, Axl Rose, and his dominating presence within the group. One of the most striking revelations was that Rose currently takes home 50% of the band’s total income.

“Axl takes 50% of the income of Guns N’ Roses now,” Niven stated. “That, to me, is anathema. He’s not Guns N’ Roses. Guns N’ Roses were a collective—they were five individuals. It was a chemistry. It was a moment. But Axl wants to be in control of everything all the time.”

Niven reflected on his often difficult relationship with the singer, describing Rose as “constantly disgruntled” and regularly threatening to fire members or leave the band himself. According to Niven, the singer never once expressed gratitude during their years of working together.

“Do you know how many times he said ‘thank you’ to me?” Niven asked rhetorically. “Never once. Not once in what, five, six years?”

He also described the early years of the band as chaotic, with the members behaving like “hellions.” Despite the dysfunction, Niven took on the challenge of managing the group because, as he put it, “everybody else said no.”

These revelations come as Niven prepares to release his upcoming book, Sound N’ Fury: Rock N’ Roll Stories, which delves deeper into his experiences in the music industry, particularly his time with Guns N’ Roses.