How long did Alan Niven work for Guns N’ Roses? Former manager accuses Axl Rose of pocketing 50% of the band’s income

Former Guns N’ Roses manager Alan Niven has made a few unsavory claims about the band's lead vocalist, Axl Rose. During the April 2 episode of the Appetite for Distortion podcast, Niven looked back at the five years he was with the band, between 1986 and 1991, while making his claims.

While conversing, he said Axl Rose tended to control everything. Host Brando Weissler touched upon trust issues, and Niven weighed in:

“You know, it’s not a trust thing. It’s a control thing with Axl.”

He went on:

“Here is another little snapshot that is illuminating and goes to forming a correct perception. Axl takes 50% of the income of Guns N’ Roses now.”

Alan Niven disagreed with the idea of one person representing Guns N' Roses, emphasizing that the band was originally a collaboration between five members with unique chemistry that captured a specific moment in time. He believed Axl Rose’s need for total control only led to underwhelming solo work and punk covers.

Weissler said his introduction to the band included seeing performances with newer members like Buckethead, which shaped a different understanding of Guns N’ Roses. He valued how the podcast gave space to these varied perspectives, from longtime insiders to fans. Alan Niven also spoke about former member Steven Adler, saying:

“For me, the first crack in GNR was losing Stevie because nobody played with his feel. To this day Axl has not employed a drummer who can swing.”

Alan Niven on Izzy Stradlin’s exit from Guns N’ Roses and Axl Rose’s birthday

Niven opined that after guitarist Izzy Stradlin’s exit, it was almost as if the band lost itself. Alan Niven emphasized that Stradlin had been Guns N' Roses’ strongest songwriter, with an unmatched natural sense for rock and roll. He believed losing Izzy was one of Doug Goldstein’s biggest blunders as a manager.

Weissler mentioned that Goldstein had once told him their partnership worked well because each one of them focused on separate responsibilities. However, Niven interrupted, clarifying that there was no such equal division.

Weissler then claimed that, according to Goldstein, Niven had been in danger of being fired by Axl Rose at one point. To this, Niven replied:

“Axl was always threatening to fire people or quit and he had me banned from the Aerosmith tour for three weeks at the beginning of it because I refused to cancel the tour the problem was Axl."

He went on:

"I didn't sign a contract just for you and your whim I signed a contract with five individuals collectively known as Guns N’ Roses and I have a responsibility to five people not just one. The other four wanted to go on tour as it was. I chose a very strange way to off the wallway to get out of that conundrum.”

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Alan Niven looked back on Axl Rose’s birthday, when he had dropped by the singer’s apartment in the morning to gift him a white Ovation guitar. That evening, he organized a dinner at a place. Niven recalled sitting at the end of the table when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He said someone quietly told him Doug Goldstein wasn’t on his side.

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