(antiMusic) A new report has it that Axl Rose is holding his new album hostage over cash. We now know that Guns N' Roses have completed "Chinese Democracy." On January 10th we reported on the rumor that it was done. That was confirmed by UK magazine Classic Rock, who spoke with Axl's personal manager, Beta Lebeis, who said that the album "was finished before Christmas." Adding that "Everybody knows that." She also said that Axl is currently "in negotiations" to set the release. The rumors were reported on originally had it that Axl had turned the album in to the label, but the parties had yet to come to terms on the marketing. We were unable to confirm this and have yet to hear back from the GNR camp or the label. Though some GNR faithful are citing an email from guitarist Richard Fortus to a fan as confirmation that the label has the album. A few fans have emailed us about this email, but we have not seen the text. Now a new report says that it's all coming down to Axl wanting more money.
Pulse of the Radio (via Blabbermouth) reports that: "W. Axl Rose is negotiating for more money with his record label before he will release the masters." They cite recent reports about this, but we could not find them. And they did not provide any direct sources for this "spin" on the story.
This unsourced claim runs counter to what Tom Zutaut, the Geffen Records A&R man that signed Guns N' Roses, said in a letter to the New York Times in 2005, "Axl Rose was one of the only artists I ever worked with who was never motivated by money. He consistently put the quality of his artistic output above all. Whether you consider him to be a musical genius on hold, a poster child for the misunderstood, or a narcissist, all of his actions are motivated by a pure desire to make every recording count as a true reflection of his own high standards."
Then again, the money could be the marketing money and promo video budgets etc, but right now this all seems like speculation built upon rumors that are built upon wanting any news about this album.
Read this new report