Chinese Democracy "Better" was released as a promo single on November 17, 2008, followed by "Street of Dreams" in March 2009. Several days before its release, the band streamed the album on their Myspace page. It was streamed over 3 million times, breaking the Myspace record for most streamed album ever. After the album's release, Rose did not appear in public for several months and did not respond to calls from the label to promote the album. On December 12, Rose answered questions and posted statements regarding the record, former bandmates, and tour plans on several Guns N' Roses fan forums. On
Chinese Democracy audiences, bountiful royalties, escalating ambitions and dangerously open-ended deadlines", the music business in the early 21st century had become "leaner" and "leakier". In a 2015 review inducting the album into their "New Classic Albums" category, Artistdirect praised the album, calling it "a timeless work of art". Best Buy purchased 1.3 million copies of "Chinese Democracy" from UMG before release and pledged not to return unsold copies. The album was released on November 22, 2008, in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It was released the following day worldwide, except for the United Kingdom, where it was released on November 24. "Chinese Democracy"