Federal authorities say that 46-year-old Joseph Strange stole unfinished music from Eminem’s studio and sold it online.
(CN) — A former employee of Eminem was criminally charged Wednesday by federal authorities in relation to the illegal sale of unreleased music by the rap icon.
Joseph Strange, a former employee of Marshall Mathers — also known as Eminem — faces charges of copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods in connection with the sale of Eminem’s unreleased music. The charges, and the accompanying criminal complaint, were announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck.
“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 Beck in a statement.
According to the criminal complaint, Mathers’s employees contacted the FBI on or about January 16, 2025, after they discovered unreleased Eminem music available on the internet.
The discovered music was still in the process of being developed by Mathers. The employees obtained an image of a list of songs that Mathers had created, but not released, that was for sale through various internet sites.
Federal authorities say that the employees recognized this as an image taken directly from a hard drive in Mathers’s studio in Ferndale, Michigan.
“This hard drive was in a safe and had not been accessed in several years,” the criminal complaint states. “A review of the log on this hard drive shows files being removed after the attachment of an external drive on October 16, 2019, and on January 16, 2020, during the time that Joseph Strange was employed at the studio.”
After being contacted by the FBI, multiple individuals who bought the unreleased music identified Strange as the person who sold it, according to the complaint. Strange, a 46-year-old from Holly, Michigan, was an employee of Mathers from approximately 2007 until 2021.
“This investigation underscores the FBI’s commitment to safeguarding artists’ intellectual property from exploitation by individuals seeking to profit illegally,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, in a statement.
Strange faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted on the criminal infringement charge, and up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the charge of interstate transportation of stolen goods.
Dennis Dennehy, a longtime spokesperson for Eminem, said in a statement that the rapper and his team are very appreciative of the efforts by federal authorities that resulted in the criminal charges.
“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,” Dennehy said in the emailed statement. “We will continue to take any and all steps necessary to protect Eminem’s art and will stop at nothing to do so.”
Eminem, 52, is regarded as one of the most influential rappers of all time, particularly in breaking down the barriers and recognizing white rappers in popular music. He has sold an estimated 220 million records worldwide, was the first musical act to have 10 albums consecutively debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and has had five No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
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