Oakland Co. Man Steals, Sells Unreleased Eminem Music: Feds

FERNDALE, MI — An Oakland County man and former employee of Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, is facing charges after stealing unreleased music from the rapper and selling it online, according to federal officials.

Joseph Strange, 46, of Holly, was charged with criminal copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods.

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for the interstate transportation of stolen goods and up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the copyright charge.

"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 Acting U.S. Attorney Beck.

Officials said employees at Eminem's music studio in Ferndale contacted the FBI on or about January 16 when they found unreleased music created by Eminem available on the internet.

The rapper's employees told officials they found an online image of a list of music that Eminem created, but had not yet released to the public. The employees said the unreleased music was for sale on various internet sites.

Moreover, the employees recognized the online image as taken directly from a hard drive in the Ferndale studio, according to federal officials.

Federal officials contacted those who bought the music and were able to identify Strange as the person who was selling the music.

Officials said Strange sold the music to a Canadian buyer who raised about $50,000 in Bitcoin with a group of Eminem fans, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Officials also executed a search warrant at Strange's home where they found thousands of music files, including unreleased Eminem songs, handwritten lyrics and an unreleased music video stored in a safe, according to federal officials.

Officials determined the stolen songs were in various stages of development and never intended for public release.

Strange was an employee of Eminem from roughly 2007 until 2021.

"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," Eminem’s team said in a statement. "We will continue to take any and all steps necessary to protect Eminem’s art and will stop at nothing to do so."