Ex-Eminem Employee Pleads Guilty After Stealing and Selling Songs, Faces Up to 5 Years in Prison

Today in prime examples of someone fucking around, and thus finding out, we have word that a former Eminem employee has pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement after stealing and selling unreleased music from the 15-time Grammy winner.

The ex-employee in question, 48-year-old Joseph Strange, of Michigan, now faces the possibility of spending up to five years behind bars. Justice Department reps said Thursday (Oct. 22) that Strange, previously employed by Em from 2007 until 2021, worked at a studio in the Ferndale area. While working at the studio, Strange had access to password-protected hard drives from which he copied “10 or more audio files” without permission.

In 2024, according to prosecutors, Strange, again without permission, sold these files for a combined sum of roughly $50,000. Given their potential for an eventual official release, the government placed the estimated value of the illegally shared tracks at $750,000, possibly more.

Strange’s guilty plea was revealed to be imminent last month. When formally announcing it on Thursday, Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, emphasized this outcome as an example of “a simple principle” often seen in such cases.

“Detroit has always been a city where creativity thrives, and no one has the right to steal or profit from another artist’s work without their permission,” Runyan said.

Strange is set to be sentenced in January.

As of this writing, Em hasn’t publicly addressed any of this, nor is he likely to do so. Earlier this month, he joined fellow Michigander Kid Rock on the baffling and inconsequential “Heal My Faith.”