A former employee of rap superstar Eminem has pleaded guilty to illegally selling the artist’s unreleased recordings. The stolen material later appeared on streaming platforms, reaching millions of listeners without the rapper’s permission.
Joseph Strange, who worked for Eminem between 2007 and 2021, admitted to copying at least 10 audio files from password-protected hard drives at the rapper’s Michigan recording studio.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Strange sold the recordings online for approximately $50,000 during the summer of 2024. Some of the tracks were still in development, while others had been prepared for possible future releases.
The leaked recordings eventually spread across digital music platforms. By November 2025, the unauthorized files had been accessed more than eight million times, with the estimated copyright infringement value reaching at least $750,000.
Strange pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement on October 22, 2026. He now faces up to five years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for January 27, 2027.
The case has raised concerns about the security of unreleased music and the protection of artists’ creative work.
Source: Sabah