A former trusted employee of rap icon Eminem is facing serious prison time after allegedly betraying the artist in a shocking way. Joseph Strange, who worked as a sound engineer for the Detroit rapper for over a decade, has been charged with stealing and selling dozens of unreleased tracks on the black market for cryptocurrency.
At a glance:
• Joseph Strange, Eminem’s former sound engineer (2007-2021), is charged with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods
• FBI agents seized hard drives containing more than 25 unreleased Eminem songs that Strange allegedly sold without permission
• One buyer reportedly paid $50,000 for unreleased tracks while other fans purchased songs for approximately $1,000
• Strange allegedly claimed to possess over 300 songs and handwritten lyric sheets from the rapper
• If convicted, Strange faces up to 5 years for copyright infringement and 10 years for transportation of stolen goods, plus $250,000 in fines
Trusted Employee Turned Alleged Thief
Joseph Strange, who worked as a sound engineer for Eminem from 2007 to 2021, allegedly abused his position to steal and sell dozens of unreleased tracks from the Grammy-winning rapper. The theft was discovered after unreleased music began appearing on websites like Reddit and YouTube in January, prompting Eminem’s team to report the breach to the FBI.
Federal authorities have accused Strange of misappropriating intellectual property while being one of only four employees with password-protected access to Eminem’s unreleased material. Files were reportedly transferred from a studio hard drive to an external drive in late 2019 and early 2020, despite Strange having signed a severance agreement specifically prohibiting the distribution of Eminem’s work.
The songs in question were recorded by Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, between 1999 and 2018. Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck emphasized the serious nature of intellectual property theft in a statement following Strange’s arrest.
Bitcoin Payments and Big Profits
According to court documents, Strange sold the unreleased music to multiple buyers using cryptocurrency payments to cover his tracks. FBI investigators identified several buyers, including an individual named Doja Rat, who reportedly paid $50,000 for songs, while another group of fans purchased tracks for approximately $1,000.
“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,” said Julie Beck, Acting U.S. Attorney.
The FBI’s search of Strange’s residence yielded hard drives containing copies of the unreleased music, confirming suspicions of theft. Financial records showed payments to Strange for the sold music, further strengthening the case against the former sound engineer.
The breach was particularly severe given the security measures in place at Eminem’s studio in Ferndale, Michigan. The music was stored on password-protected hard drives in a safe, with only four employees having authorized access to the material.
Dennis Dennehy, a representative for Eminem, expressed gratitude for the FBI’s investigation, stating: “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.”
