GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Slash talked about having his own record label for his solo output, explaining to LA Weekly during a recent interview:
“I don’t want to sign on to a big major [label]. I just started my own label, and I have majors distribute. That works great for me – I’m in control and my own boss. I don’t have to pay everything I make to somebody else. It’s a crazy business right now, especially for up-and-coming rock bands.”
Focusing on the ongoing demise of the music industry, Slash added:
“All the warning signs were there, and the record business didn’t want to hear it.
“At this point, you’ve got your big commercial artists that are in your sort of upper echelon of Top 40 that the labels pay out these massive advances to, and they get their money back in every way possible.
“Then you have other artists that, if they don’t conform to the Top 40 standard, they’ve got one shot. If they don’t make it, they’re out. There’s no A&R people, there’s no one going out to all the venues looking for new talent to develop.
“All things considered, even with Guns N’ Roses, there was the nucleus of a great group or a great artist that needed to hone in their skills and put out one, two, even three records before they really f**king hit, but there was promise and they saw that and they had the vision. That just doesn’t exist anymore.”
