Former Eminem employee pleads guilty to selling unreleased tracks for $50,000

A guilty plea in Detroit

Joseph Strange, a 48-year-old former employee of Eminem, pleaded guilty in a court in Detroit to copyright infringement, the US Justice Department said. He admitted selling at least ten unreleased audio files for about 50,000 US dollars in total. The plea was entered on Thursday, 22 October 2026. After his arrest in March 2025, Strange had been charged with criminal copyright infringement and interstate transport of stolen property. He faces a maximum of five years in prison under the copyright charge.

How the leak came to light

Eminem is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of rap. Strange worked for the rapper from about 2007 to 2021 and had access to password-protected hard drives holding music that was still in development and not meant for release, the ministry said. He sold the files in July and August 2024, after which they appeared online and on streaming platforms. By November 2025 the tracks had been viewed more than eight million times. Staff at the artist's studio in Ferndale, Michigan, contacted the FBI in January 2025 after unreleased songs surfaced on the internet, with El País dating that contact to 16 January. Agents later reached some of the buyers, who said they had bought the music from Strange, and that is how the seller was identified.

Value of the material and the probe

The Justice Department has calculated the value of the leaked music at no less than 750,000 dollars, although the investigation is still ongoing. Deputy Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement after the plea that Strange had abused a position of trust to copy and sell music that had not been authorised for public release. Duva added that the conduct violated both legal and artistic rights and that the Criminal Division remains committed to protecting intellectual property. US Attorney Julie Beck, quoted in a statement from the Michigan office, said that protecting creators' original work from copying and distribution by people seeking profit from others' creativity is fundamental.

Sentencing ahead

Sentencing is scheduled for 27 January 2027, when the court will set the penalty. Strange is 48 years old and faces a maximum of five years in prison. The Justice Department says its inquiry is continuing, so the value attached to the leaked material may still change. The case began with the studio's report to the FBI and ended with the seller's own guilty plea.