Eminem's Former Sound Engineer Just Pleaded Guilty To Selling Unreleased Tracks For 50,000 Dollars

Eminem's former sound engineer, Joseph Strange, has pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement, officials said.

The United States Department of Justice announced it on Thursday, 22 October, saying the case involved unreleased music accessed through his work at a recording studio in Ferndale, Michigan, and a buyer's reported $50,000 payment.

In March 2025, Strange was charged with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods. Those charges followed allegations that he sold Eminem's music to individuals who posted more than 25 unreleased songs online in January that year.

Eminem's Former Sound Engineer Faces up to Five Years

Strange now faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty. The five-year figure is the maximum potential sentence, not a prison term already imposed.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division described Strange's conduct as an abuse of trust involving music not authorised for release.

'Joseph Strange abused a position of trust to unlawfully copy and sell unreleased music belonging to Eminem, profiting from works that were not yet authorised for public distribution.'

Duva's statement addressed both the copying and sale of the recordings and the rights attached to the unreleased work.

'His conduct undermined both legal and artistic rights. The Criminal Division remains committed to protecting intellectual property, holding accountable those who seek to profit from theft of creative content, and working with our law enforcement partners to deter and disrupt these crimes,' Duva added.

How Eminem's Unreleased Music Reached Investigators

Strange worked as Eminem's sound engineer at the Ferndale studio from 2007 to 2021. That job gave him access to the rapper's unreleased music years before the tracks appeared online in January 2025.

Several studio employees contacted the FBI when the songs surfaced. Investigators subsequently identified several individuals who had purchased the music.

Among those buyers was a person named Doja Rat, who stated that he paid Strange $50,000 for the songs. He also claimed that Strange possessed more than 300 songs and handwritten lyric sheets. The account does not specify how many songs were included in the $50,000 transaction.

The reported payment and the claim about Strange's collection describe different aspects of the case. Doja Rat said he paid $50,000, while the larger collection was material he claimed Strange possessed.

During a search of Strange's residence, the FBI seized hard drives containing copies of Eminem's unreleased music. The seizure provided a separate finding from Doja Rat's claims about the number of songs and the lyric sheets.

Eminem Tracks Recorded Millions of Accesses

Data from streaming providers indicated that the infringing songs had been accessed more than eight million times by November 2025. That figure reflects song access, not the number of individual purchasers identified during the investigation.

The files were estimated to be worth at least $750,000. That valuation differs from the $50,000 payment Doja Rat reported. It is not presented as the amount that the buyer paid.

The announced guilty plea concerns criminal copyright infringement. The US Department of Justice account does not specify a sentencing date or explain the status of the separate interstate transportation-of-stolen-goods charge.