Joseph Strange, a former employee of Eminem, has pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement in the Eastern District of Michigan after copying and selling the rapper’s unreleased music without permission.
Strange, 48, received approximately $50,000 from internet sales of the files during the summer of 2024. The material subsequently appeared online and on streaming platforms without Eminem’s knowledge or consent.
Access to unreleased recordings
Court documents state that Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, employed Strange from approximately 2007 to 2021. Strange worked at a Ferndale, Michigan, studio where Mathers created and developed music.
His responsibilities included helping to install and operate a computer system used to store Mathers’ recordings. He could also access password-protected hard drives containing unfinished music that was not intended for public release.
Strange copied at least 10 audio files from one or more of those drives without authorization. He later sold and transmitted 10 or more files to online buyers without Mathers’ knowledge or approval.
The files contained music and other material at different stages of development. Although no commercial release was reportedly planned, some recordings had undergone professional preparation for potential release, including studio mastering in certain cases.
Sentencing scheduled for January 2027
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said Strange had used his position of trust to copy and sell music that had not been authorized for public distribution.
Duva said the division remained committed to protecting intellectual property and working with law enforcement partners to deter such crimes. Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Detroit Field Office, also pledged continued enforcement against intellectual property violations.
Strange is scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2027. He faces a maximum prison term of five years, with a federal district court judge to determine his sentence.
