In a revealing new podcast appearance, former Guns N’ Roses manager Alan Niven has blasted frontman Axl Rose for allegedly taking half the band’s income and insisting on controlling everything related to the group.

Niven, who managed Guns N’ Roses between 1986 and 1991, joined the Appetite for Distortion podcast to promote his upcoming book Sound N’ Furry: Rock N’ Roll Stories. But the conversation quickly turned to his rocky history with the band—particularly with its controversial lead singer.

“It’s a control thing with Axl,” Niven said. “Here’s another little snapshot that is illuminating and goes to forming a correct perception. Axl takes 50 per cent of the income of Guns N’ Roses now. 50 per cent, OK? That, to me, is anathema. He is not Guns N’ Roses.”

Niven emphasized that Guns N’ Roses was always meant to be a collaborative project, not a one-man show.

“They were five individuals. It was a chemistry. It was a moment,” he continued. “But Axl wants to be in control of everything all the time. And look what that gets you. A boring solo record and a sh*tty thing of punk covers. And that’s it.”

This isn’t the first time Niven has criticized the iconic rock band. In a 2022 interview with Classic Rock, he referred to them as “creatively impotent”, taking another jab at their lack of new material in recent decades.

“I have no hope of, or interest in, a new Guns N’ Roses album,” he told the magazine. “The tantrums of youth look absurd on a 60-year-old. It’s a shame they have been creatively impotent since 1991.”

Niven’s remarks are sure to stir the pot among Guns N’ Roses fans, many of whom have long speculated about the band’s internal power dynamics. His claims paint a picture of a band dominated by one figure—one who might be keeping the GNR legacy alive, but at a controversial cost.