Guns N' Roses breaking up wasn't just about musical control, however - but control of the entire enterprise. As a business, GN'R was, and is, worth a lot of money. Merch sales. Licensing of songs in TV and films. Back catalog stuff. There's a whole whack of cash at play. An infamous story arose in the years following the breakup of the band that stated one night, Axl Rose refused to go on stage until Slash and Duff signed over the rights to the band's name, which they did. Could that really be true? Rose would point out in some late 2000s online chats that were this to be the case, he would be legally crucified, since the transfer of the rights to the name would have come under duress. He wasn't wrong. Duff's autobiography would also clarify that it wasn't Rose, but rather manager Doug Goldstein, who presented papers for Slash and Duff to sign, telling the pair that they were not in good shape, and that were one of them to die, no one wanted to wind up fighting someone's estate for the rights to continue the band. One way or another, they did sign over the name, and it did become a sticking point in later years. There were numerous lawsuits fired back and forth between Slash, Duff, and Axl during their years apart (claims and counterclaims), including Slash and Duff suing Rose in 2004 over "lost soundtrack opportunities." This lawsuit stated Rose wouldn't give the green light to license Guns music to numerous film projects. One of the movies in question? Death to Smoochy. Well, maybe that was the right call.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
