Slash & Duff to sue Axl!

[Booker Floyd]

Haha maybe they'll all be in court together.........does that count as a reunion?

Good enough for me  

[Falcon]

nice sarcasm falcon, jerk.

they are attacking axl's position as controlling interest in the band. This is a huge attack on his ownership of the GnR name. with a simple ruling a judge could proclaim that axl does not have exclusive rights to the catalog and name. Ergo, he must repay the old members for lost monies, monies that axl never received himself since he shot down the deal, as well as declare that the ownership of the name isn't axls. This is huge.

Nice name calling, .....

Sure it's huge, but it hardly takes away his livlihood for cryin' out loud.  

He can still record, release and tour under the GNR banner, all avenues to produce income and provide a livlihood for the poor fella.

Hell, even if he lost the rights to the brand name "GNR" (which seems not to be in question within the parameters of this lawsuit) he could still record, release and tour under whatever name he pleases, thus providing a livlihood.

It's not like they're suing to take away the rights to use his vocal chords for crissakes...

[RnT]

DAMN !!

[axls#2]

okay, i just got done bashing axl and sticking up for vr on the whole BTM thing, now im gonna switch sides for shits and giggles. It may be a good thing axl is not letting all of these movies carry gn'r songs, some of them were pretty bad movies. If slash had his way, we would be seeing gn'r on the "queer eye for the straight guy" soundtrack, or something else that isn't really "GN'R"

[killingvector]

even if i concede that my initial reaction was exaggerated, this is still a classless, bitter action which is designed as a footnote for the end of BTM GnR.

[Freya]

The only thing I can think of is that lately a lot of songs have been refused for soundtracks costing them a lot of money. That would be understandable I suppose, although you could argue how important that money actually is with all the money they'll be making/already are making.

Well, I'll say.  They are all millionaires, they don't need to make money by putting their music in dumb movies and commercials.  I guess Slash and Duff are thinking long term or something.  It's just that I thought inroads had been made when the guys united in that suit against Universal.  This?  Will set Axl off majorly.  

[NickNasty]

If Slash and Duff's goal is to make me lose respect for them, they're doing a wonderful job. I've always said (even though I support him) that Axl's ego is the reason for old GNR's breakup, but these guys have two big ones of their own. Fuckin a.

[Naupis]

This is nothing more than a business move (and a great opportunity to drive Axl nuts if your Slash and Duff) and no one can really blame them. If they have no case, a judge will immediately throw it out. If it turns out that Axl's veto control over all uses of the songs is cut down because they all equally own the songs, than that is the way it should be because they all did participate in the creation of them. This in no way effects Axl's future ability to use the GNR name and release albums and tour with it, so it really isn't that big a deal. Like I said, if there has been no harm committed by Axl there will be no foul. Something tells me though that someone has been combing those contracts with a fine tooth comb recently and that person thinks they have a very legitimate case if they are going through all this trouble. Should be very interesting to see this develop. Also, I think it is ingenious that Slash/Duff are doing anything and everything to create controversy and get their name out there. I am almost beginning to believe they were the brains behind the operation in GNR's first rise to fame as they seem to have a great knack for impeccable PR promotion.

[smishkey]

Former Guns N' Roses Members Fight for Control of Songs

Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses ruled rock in the '80s with hits like "Sweet Child of Mine" and "Paradise City." The original band members parted ways in 1995, but now, former band mates Slash, whose real name is Saul Hudson, and Duff McKagan are suing Rose, claiming he ripped them off to the tune of at least a million dollars.

Duff and Slash now have a new band called Velvet Revolver, and are about to go on tour. But they're bound to have some things on their mind -- mainly the lawsuit against their former front man which pertains to who controls the rights to old Guns N' Roses hits.

In the suit, Duff and Slash claim Rose doesn't have any controlling interest in the songs, but they say he killed deals that would have put their tunes in a half dozen movies, including "Just Married," "We Were Soldiers," "Death to Smoochie" and "Old School."

And you won't hear the band's huge hit, "Welcome to the Jungle" in the movie "Blackhawk Down," because, according to the lawsuit, Axl wouldn't let the producers use it. Instead, he wanted to re-record it, thereby allegedly cheating his ex-band mates out of the licensing fee.

David Powell runs "The Music Bridge," a company that deals with music rights for movies. According to Powell, "Licensing is very important for any band or any artist that gets out there in popular culture."

In Powell's business, when the movies come calling, most bands seem eager to participate, since, "There are many income streams that can be generated from the songs, as well as the master recordings, for years and sometimes generations to come."

source: http://celebrityjustice.warnerbros.com/news/0405/03a.html

 
I could see suing him if he put songs in movies and they didn't get paid.  But to sue because he didn't put songs in movies??  Aren't our courts filled with enough frivilous lawsuits already?

[Freya]

I am almost beginning to believe they were the brains behind the operation in GNR's first rise to fame as they seem to have a great knack for impeccable PR promotion.

I don't think "brains" has anything to do with it, Slash and Duff have always just made themselves accessible and the controversy is built in.  It's good timing.  

[Naupis]

Smishkey-

Not frivilous at all. If they all own equal share of the songs, and 3 or 4 out of 5 want to use something, then there is a legal issue about whether they should be allowed to use it or not. In the past they have just always lived with Axl vetoing any proposed use of the songs, they are now challenging whether he can legally do that or not. This isn't an issue about the GNR name, but actual ownership of the songs, which is somewhat independent of that. It is like controlling shares of a company. If they all own equal shares of the songs, which in this case represent a company, then there is definitely an issue about who controls the songs and how they are used. That is a completely different issue than who owns the band name, which is going uncontested. What is the worst that happens, a judge says a majority vote of the 5 is all that is needed to OK something? Democracy is a good thing. A judge will decide if Axl legally has final Veto power, which someone has obviously told Slash and Duff recently that he doesn't, and with the re-newed interest in the back catalog the issue of who can use the songs and when has higher stakes than ever.

[killingvector]

it's not ingenious it's classless. Slash and Duff have said how they are moving on with this new project but are not above squeezing monies out of axl. They could have settled this issue long ago, but low and behold  a short time before the release of their new single/album here is news that this lawsuit has been filed.  It's frivality is without question but designed to serve as a footnote to BTM and numerous articles about the band as they were "clearly swindeled by the vindictive axl rose". All bullshit.

This suit exposes them as the hypocrites they are.

[NickNasty]

it's not ingenious it's classless. Slash and Duff have said how they are moving on with this new project but are not above squeezing monies out of axl. They could have settled this issue long ago, but low and behold  a short time before the release of their new single/album here is news that this lawsuit has been dropped.  It's frivality is without question but designed to serve as a footnote to BTM and numerous articles about the band as they were "clearly swindeled by the vindictive axl rose". All bullshit.

This suit exposes them as the hypocrites they are.

Amen, brother

[D]

maybe thats whats holdin chinese democracy up

[charl!edontsurf]

Haha. Now THATS a funny post.

[mr_yoshimaroka]

maybe thats whats holdin chinese democracy up

Whoa. To think slash n' duff are the cause behind another CD delay instead of axl.

Isn't it ironic? A little tooooo ironic. Yes I really do think. It's like raaaiiin on your wedding day! It's the free riii-eeee-iide that you just wouldn't take, and who.... ok i'll stop singing alanis morisette now.

[SLCPUNK]

Haha maybe they'll all be in court together.........does that count as a reunion?

LOL not unless they sing.

[SLCPUNK]

This suit exposes them as the hypocrites they are.

Or maybe somebody explained to them that they deserve just as much rights to those songs as ole Axl. They probably signed everything in a haste to begin with.

They do deserve equal.

[Axl_Rose]

Killingvector you really are a sheep. It is incredibly obvious Axl screwed them out of untold millions when he took the GnR name. The guy probably sits around in his mansion doing valium all day, squelching any and all liscencing deals that involve the old band.

He was great, emphasis on was, now hes just a paranoid idiot ruining it for everyone, most of all the fans who really want to hear the new stuff.

[Scree]

Am I the only one to see the humour in all this? I mean first of all they are like kids. Constantly sniping at each other. Then when it hits the boards, it gets really funny. Ex-member says something against Axl, the Axl people damn near shit themselves in anger. Axl says something about an ex-member, the ex-members fans near piss thier panties to defend em.

Bottom line, they are all grown men. They are not gods, they are not immortal, they are human. I sometimes wonder about people whose live seem to revolve around the band.