A former engineer at Eminem’s studio has been charged with leaking over two dozen unreleased tracks, a move the rapper’s team says caused irreversible damage to his legacy.
Joseph Strange, a former engineer at Eminem’s Ferndale, Michigan studio, is facing federal charges for allegedly leaking over two dozen unreleased Eminem songs. Prosecutors say Strange sold the music — recorded between 1999 and 2018 — to a Canadian buyer for $50,000 in Bitcoin. Fans reportedly pooled funds to finance the purchase.
Eminem’s team has strongly condemned the leaks, with a spokesperson telling People magazine: “We will continue to take any and all steps necessary to protect Eminem’s art and will stop at nothing to do so”. They further emphasized the impact of the breach, stating, “The significant damage caused by a trusted employee to Eminem’s artistic legacy and creative integrity cannot be overstated”.
Investigators traced the leak back to Strange after finding an identical file on a password-protected hard drive at the studio. Now facing charges of criminal copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods, Strange could receive up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Strange’s defender, Wade Fink, calls the charges “untested” and notes that Strange, a married father of two, had a long-standing career in the music industry before his firing in 2021. He does not specify what happened in 2021, leading to his client being fired from the studio.
