Investigators say over 25 tracks were leaked, sparking a federal copyright case
A former studio engineer for Eminem has been charged with stealing and selling the rapper’s unreleased music online, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Joseph Strange, 46, of Holly, Michigan, allegedly leaked over 25 tracks, stored on password-protected hard drives in Eminem’s Detroit studio, to online buyers for thousands of dollars in Bitcoin.
According to an FBI affidavit, Strange, who was fired in 2021, transferred files from secured drives to an external device during his tenure. The stolen tracks, still in development, began appearing on platforms like Reddit and YouTube, prompting an investigation. One buyer, a Canadian using the screen name Doja Rat, admitted to paying 50,000 for 25 songs.
During a January raid, the FBI recovered handwritten lyric sheets, a VHS tape of an unreleased video, and hard drives containing 12,000 audio files. Strange’s attorney called the charges “untested allegations,” but prosecutors emphasised the importance of protecting intellectual property.
Eminem, a hip-hop legend and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, remains at the centre of this high-stakes drama, as the case highlights the dark side of music fandom and the lengths some will go to for a piece of unreleased art.
