A former audio engineer who worked for Eminem for 14 years has been charged with stealing and selling more than 25 unreleased songs from the rapper's studio. Joseph Strange lost his job at Eminem's studio in 2021 and now faces charges of copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods. If convicted, he could spend up to 15 years behind bars. Not exactly the career path he probably imagined.
The theft wasn't some spur-of-the-moment decision. Strange allegedly transferred files from the studio's password-protected hard drives to an external drive in October 2019 and January 2020. These weren't just random tracks. The unreleased music was kept in a safe at Eminem's Ferndale studio. Only three authorized individuals had access to these highly protected hard drives containing the unreleased tracks. Talk about premeditated.
Strange didn't just steal the music – he cashed in. He sold the stolen tracks for approximately $50,000 in Bitcoin to an Ontario man using the screen name "Doja Rat." This buyer wasn't acting alone; he raised funds from a group of Eminem fans enthusiastic to hear the unreleased material. The fan fundraising effort was publicly warned against by Eminem's business associate Fred Nassar. Due to the nature of blockchain, the cryptocurrency transactions were irrevocable and cross-border, making it nearly impossible for authorities to recover the funds.
Strange also sold handwritten lyric sheets and made another deal with a Connecticut group, who bought a couple songs for about $1,000.
The whole scheme fell apart when the stolen music started appearing online. Employees spotted the tracks on Reddit and YouTube and reported the theft. Oops.
When the FBI searched Strange's home, they hit the jackpot: numerous handwritten lyric sheets, hard drives containing 12,000 audio files, and evidence of music development files and unreleased videos. Not exactly something you can hide under the bed.
The impact on Eminem has been substantial. His team described the theft as causing significant damage to his artistic legacy and creative integrity, not to mention the financial losses. Strange had even signed an agreement not to electronically circulate Eminem's work as part of his severance package.
The case now heads to court, where it could set precedent for future intellectual property theft cases. Stealing from your boss never ends well.
