A former studio engineer for Eminem has been charged with stealing the rapper’s unreleased music and selling it online, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. Authorities report that over 25 songs were shared or played online without permission from Eminem or Interscope Capital Labels Group, the label that owns his music. These tracks were stored on password-protected hard drives kept in a safe at Eminem’s studio in Ferndale, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, according to an FBI affidavit.
Joseph Strange, 46, from Holly, Michigan, faces charges of copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods. These charges were filed through a criminal complaint, as confirmed by Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck in Detroit. Strange, who was let go from his position at Eminem’s studio in 2021, could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty on both counts.
Strange’s lawyer, Wade Fink, stated in a message that his client is a married father of two with decades of experience in the music industry. He also referred to the charges as “untested allegations” that have yet to be examined by a grand jury or a judge.
“We will address the situation in court, and we have full confidence in the judges of our district,” his attorney stated.
Studio staff alerted the FBI about the theft in January, reporting that unreleased music, still in development, had been played on various websites, including Reddit and YouTube.
An investigation revealed that files had been transferred from a hard drive stored in a safe to an external drive in October 2019 and January 2020, while Strange was working as a sound engineer at the studio.
Further investigation led authorities to potential buyers after Eminem’s business associate, Fred Nassar, posted an online warning urging fans not to share the music.
A Canadian individual, using the screen name Doja Rat, admitted to purchasing 25 unreleased songs from Strange for approximately $50,000 in Bitcoin. He revealed that he had raised the money through a group of Eminem fans, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III.
Strange was also attempting to sell some of Eminem’s handwritten lyric sheets, according to Doja Rat.
A separate group of fans, organized by someone from Connecticut using the screen name ATL, purchased a few songs from Strange for about $1,000, as stated in the affidavit.
In January, the FBI conducted a search of Strange’s home, where they discovered multiple handwritten Eminem lyric sheets and notes, a VHS tape of an unreleased Eminem video, and hard drives containing 12,000 audio files. Some of these files included music in various stages of development by Eminem and other unidentified artists who worked with him, the affidavit revealed.
Eminem was named Best Hip-Hop Act at the 2024 MTV EMAs and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
The affidavit also highlighted that Strange had signed an agreement as part of his severance package that explicitly prohibited him from electronically distributing Eminem’s work.
“Protecting intellectual property from thieves is essential in safeguarding the exclusive rights of creators and preventing the unauthorized reproduction and distribution of their work by those seeking to profit off others’ creativity,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck.
