Part 2/11:

The Money Machine: 1987 to 1991

In February 1987, Guns N' Roses was struggling to make ends meet. Duff McKagan recalls getting only $7.50 per day while living in a rehearsal studio he shared with Slash. Their initial contract with Geffen Records amounted to a meager $37,000 total—which translates to only about $7,000 per member before taxes. However, things took a dramatic turn when their debut album, Appetite for Destruction, began to gain traction, particularly after the release of "Sweet Child of Mine" in 1988. By the end of that year, their merchandising alone grossed over $35 million. Unfortunately, the band saw less than 2% of those profits due to unfavorable contract terms that funneled money toward management and merchandising companies rather than the band members themselves.