# Former Eminem Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing and Selling Unreleased Music

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/former-eminem-employee-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-and-selling-unreleased-music/
- Published: 2026-10-22T20:07:06+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-22T20:14:11+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/music/news/former-eminem-employee-pleads-guilty-stealing-selling-music-1236921612/
- Topics: Offbeat, Weird & Viral

## Key points

- Joseph Strange pleaded guilty to copyright infringement.
- He faces up to five years in prison.
- The leaked songs were accessed over eight million times.

## Summary

Joseph Strange, a former Eminem employee, has pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement for stealing and selling the rapper’s unreleased music. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, with sentencing set for 27 January 2027.

Strange worked as a sound engineer for Eminem from 2007 to 2021 and was charged in March 2025 after more than 25 songs appeared online. A buyer told investigators he paid Strange $50,000, while streaming data showed the songs had been accessed more than eight million times by November 2025; the files were estimated to be worth at least $750,000.

## Coverage

- [Variety: Former Eminem Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing and Selling Unreleased Music](https://variety.com/2026/music/news/former-eminem-employee-pleads-guilty-stealing-selling-music-1236921612/)
- [Rolling Stone: Eminem’s Former Employee Pleads Guilty to Leaking Rapper’s Unreleased Music](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/eminem-former-employee-guilty-leaking-unreleased-music-1235646780/)
- [Billboard: Eminem Staffer Pleads Guilty to Stealing and Selling Unreleased Songs That Leaked Online](https://www.billboard.com/pro/eminem-employee-pleads-guilty-stealing-unreleased-songs/)
- [The Hollywood Reporter: Former Eminem Staffer Pleads Guilty to Leaking Rapper’s Music](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-news/former-eminem-staffer-pleads-guilty-to-leaking-music-1236738426/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.