Former Eminem employee pleads guilty to selling unreleased tracks that were later accessed 8M+ times on streaming platforms
Former Eminem employee Joseph Strange has pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement after selling unreleased music taken from the rapper’s studio. The case matters because the tracks reached public streaming platforms without Eminem’s knowledge or permission, and prosecutors estimate the infringement at $750,000 or more.
Court documents say Strange, 48, worked with Eminem’s recording systems in Michigan from about 2007 to 2021 and copied at least 10 files from password-protected drives. He sold them online for about $50,000 in July and August 2024; identified files had been accessed more than 8 million times by November 2025. Strange faces up to five years in prison and is due to be sentenced on 27 January 2027.
In short
- Former employee Joseph Strange pleaded guilty over Eminem’s unreleased music.
- He sold at least 10 files for about $50,000.
- Identified tracks were accessed over 8 million times.
Explained simply
Unreleased music is material an artist has recorded but has not chosen to publish. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, is a rapper who records in Michigan; people working with his studio systems could handle files that were not meant for public release.
Copyright law gives creators control over how their music is copied and shared. If tracks appear online without permission, they can be streamed widely before an artist or record company has approved their release, and the unauthorised copies may affect the value and distribution of the music.