Aaron Lewis’ Album Cover Used in Taylor Swift Merchandise

Aaron Lewis, the frontman of Staind, was surprised to see the cover of his upcoming album, Give Me Back My Country, shredded as packaging material in a Taylor Swift merchandise box. A fan’s unboxing video revealed the unusual use of his album’s artwork, prompting Lewis to respond on social media.

“Oh look, there’s my new album, that hasn’t even been released yet, shredded as packaging paper in Taylor Swift merch,” he noted in his post. The unexpected mix-up came to his attention through his team, as Lewis does not use social media.

“I never even had a MySpace,” he told USA Today. “So I don’t see anything of that type of stuff. And when this was brought to me, I was just like, ‘What is going on? This is just weird.’

The album, scheduled for release on July 17 through Big Machine Label Group, had not yet reached the public. Lewis expressed his confusion and concern over the mishap, emphasizing the trust artists place in distribution companies to handle their material responsibly.

“That’s the cover to my brand-new record that hasn’t even been put out yet,” he commented. While unsure how it happened, Lewis avoided attributing malice to the incident. “I hate to think it’s malicious, but at the same time, I don’t know that it’s not,” he explained.

Despite this mix-up, Lewis harbors no animosity towards Taylor Swift, acknowledging their different worlds. “We live in two very, very different worlds. And she’s such a huge star that her world doesn’t intertwine with anyone’s worlds,” he said, clarifying that the intention was not to promote his album through this incident.

Representatives from Big Machine Label Group and Universal Music Group, who are responsible for product management and merchandising, have not yet commented on the situation.