A former employee of Eminem has been charged with selling the rapper’s unreleased music, leading to a federal case involving copyright infringement and theft.
Joseph Strange, 46, of Holly, Michigan, was charged Wednesday with criminal copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods, the Justice Department announced.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation alleges Strange, who worked for Eminem from 2007 until his dismissal in 2021, sold unreleased tracks recorded by the rapper. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for copyright infringement, and up to 10 years for transporting stolen goods across state lines.
According to federal prosecutors, the FBI launched an investigation in January after employees at Eminem’s Ferndale-based Effigy Studios noticed a list of the rapper’s unreleased songs circulating online. The list matched a catalog stored on password-protected hard drives at the studio, which were accessible to only a few employees, including Strange, an audio engineer who helped set up and manage the system.
The investigation uncovered that Strange sold the music to a Canadian buyer who raised about $50,000 in Bitcoin with a group of Eminem fans, the Detroit Free Press first reported. Additional buyers told authorities they had purchased songs from Strange, including one who paid $1,000 for a pair of tracks.
The FBI recovered hard drives from Strange’s home containing thousands of music files, including unreleased Eminem songs, handwritten lyrics, and an unreleased music video stored in a safe.
Authorities were tipped off in part by Eminem’s longtime collaborator Fredwreck, who warned in a since-deleted social media post, “We will find you. Street law will apply.”
A U.K.-based Eminem fan later provided the FBI with chat messages linking Strange to the leaks. The investigation confirmed the stolen songs were in various stages of development and never intended for public release.
Eminem’s team condemned the leak, calling it a serious breach of trust.
“The significant damage caused by a trusted employee to Eminem’s artistic legacy and creative integrity cannot be overstated, let alone the enormous financial losses incurred by the many creators and collaborators that deserve protection for their decades of work,” Eminem’s team said in a statement. “We will continue to take any and all steps necessary to protect Eminem’s art and will stop at nothing to do so.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck underscored the importance of protecting intellectual property.
“Protecting intellectual property from thieves is critical in safeguarding the exclusive rights of creators and protecting their original work from reproduction and distribution by individuals who seek to profit from the creative output of others,” Beck said in a statement.
Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, credited collaboration between law enforcement and Eminem’s team for quickly enforcing federal laws.
“This investigation underscores the FBI’s commitment to safeguarding artists’ intellectual property from exploitation by individuals seeking to profit illegally,” Gibson said. “Thanks to the cooperation of Mathers Music Studio, FBI agents from the Oakland County Resident Agency were able to swiftly enforce federal laws and ensure Joseph Strange was held accountable for his actions.”
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Wyse and Alyse Wu.
