- Former Eminem sound engineer Joseph Strange charged with selling unreleased songs for $50,000 in Bitcoin.
- FBI investigation found Strange allegedly sold at least 25 unreleased tracks to a Canadian buyer known as “Doja Rat.”
- If convicted, Strange faces up to 10 years in prison for interstate transportation of stolen goods and up to 5 years for copyright infringement.
Federal authorities have charged Joseph Strange, a 46-year-old former sound engineer for Marshall Mathers (known professionally as Eminem), with selling the rapper’s unreleased material for $50,000 in Bitcoin. The Michigan resident allegedly exploited his position to illegally obtain and sell at least 25 tracks recorded by the Grammy Award-winning artist between 1999 and 2018.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, Strange now faces serious criminal charges including copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods. The recordings were development tracks never intended for public release.
The FBI launched its investigation after employees at Eminem’s studio reported seeing the unauthorized music appear on platforms like Reddit and YouTube. An affidavit filed Wednesday detailed how authorities traced the leaks back to Strange, who worked at the studio from 2007 to 2021.
During a January 28 search of Strange’s Holly, Michigan home, FBI agents discovered hard drives containing the stolen recordings, handwritten lyrics by Eminem, and an unreleased music video on VHS tape. The investigation revealed Strange was one of only four employees with direct access to the studio’s hard drives—notably, one of the other authorized individuals was his uncle, Mike Strange, who continues to work as an engineer for Eminem.
The FBI investigation determined that Strange sold the tracks to a 31-year-old Canadian known online as “Doja Rat,” who reportedly raised the cryptocurrency funds with help from a group of Eminem fans. During interviews with federal investigators, Doja Rat claimed Strange had boasted about possessing more than 300 unreleased Eminem tracks and handwritten lyric sheets.
“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,” a representative for Eminem told The Detroit Free Press.
If convicted, Strange could face substantial penalties—up to 10 years imprisonment for interstate transportation of stolen goods and up to 5 years for criminal copyright infringement. Additionally, he may be fined up to $250,000.
This incident isn’t the first time Eminem’s work has been leaked prematurely. The artist has faced unauthorized releases multiple times throughout his career, including in the early 2000s and 2010s. In 2002, widespread piracy of “The Eminem Show” forced the label to move up the album’s release date to counter further unauthorized distribution.
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