What is a "360 deal"? Aaron Lewis explains the perils of modern record labels, claims "most, if not all," artists hate them

American musician Aaron Lewis, the founding member of the alternative metal band Staind, appeared on the August 22, 2025, episode of The Tucker Carlson Show. During the interview, the 53-year-old explained the perils of modern record labels, particularly the rise of the “360 deal.”

Lewis reflected on how much the industry had changed since his career began nearly three decades earlier. He described how younger artists were often forced into contracts where profits from every part of their careers were shared with record labels.

“But there is this thing that has taken place since I got my record deal 28 years ago, 27 years ago; it is called a 360 deal, where now the younger artists, they’re sharing the profits for everything,” Aaron Lewis said.

According to PandaDoc, in the music industry, a 360 deal is a comprehensive agreement between an artist and a record label (or management company) in which the label receives a percentage of income from all revenue streams, not just music sales. This includes earnings from touring, merchandise, endorsements, songwriting, and more.

Weighing in on the “360 deal,” Aaron Lewis argued that this arrangement left artists with little financial independence.

“The record label gets a cut of their merch. The record label gets a cut of their live performance pay. The record label gets a cut of 360 everything. No matter what you generate.”

Later, Tucker Carlson noted that Aaron Lewis had worked and toured with many people in the industry. Based on this, the podcaster asked Lewis how many artists secretly harbored resentment toward record companies for making such deals. Lewis said that the discontent was widespread across the industry.

“Most, if not all,” Aaron Lewis replied.

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Aaron Lewis criticizes record labels on The Tucker Carlson Show

Aaron Lewis (Image via Getty Images)

During his appearance on The Tucker Carlson Show, musician Aaron Lewis shared his critical views on the state of the modern music industry.

In the interview, when Carlson asked why record labels were able to claim such a large share, Lewis explained that it came down to competition and desperation within the industry. He explained that labels took advantage of the fact that countless aspiring musicians were waiting for their chance and would accept any contract offered.

“Because there’s a thousand people behind every single person with a record label with a record deal that wants it as badly as you did before you got it. And they can give you the sh*ttiest deal on the planet because if you don’t take it, the guy behind you will,” Lewis said.

Tucker Carlson remarked that record labels were not only “greedy and dishonest” and financially driven, but also politically motivated. Lewis agreed with the assessment, adding that it was usually in the “wrong direction.” He also went on to add that while labels were supposed to promote creativity, they often prioritized profits over artistry.

Explaining further, he remarked that the deal was “not necessarily about... the art” that was “being created by the creative.” Rather, it was about the money that the creative artist was going to generate for the record label to “cover the 15 failures that they brought to the table.”

Carlson then pointed out that publishing houses operated in a similar way. He also asked Aaron Lewis whether a decent person could ever start a record company. Lewis responded that while it might be possible, the system itself was too corrupt to allow for real change. He explained that even if a good person attempted to start a label, the “operating system” of the industry was “not decent.”

“So a decent person could start a record label, but unless they change the entire formula and then the entire way that the whole business is run…[but] the business itself is lecherous,” Aaron Lewis said.

Lewis further added that unless the entire formula of how record companies operated were changed, even well-intentioned efforts would eventually fall into the same profit-driven structure.

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Aaron Lewis, alongside his band, The Stateliners, is currently on their American As It Gets Tour, performing across the United States. His latest album, The Hill, was released in March 2024.