if sanctuary owns the copyrights how is interscope releasing material sanctuary owns?
interscope/geffen owns the actual recordings made by GNR, and all of the rights which apply to those recordings.
sanctuary owns or handles axl's share of the publishing rights - ie, the lyrics and the music but NOT the actual recordings.
Example: Axl writes a song. He owns the copyright for that song. A record label pays Axl to record the song. The record label owns the copyright to the recording. The song and the recording of the song are two seperate properties, the first is an intellectual property - an idea - and the second is a physical property - a product.