Former Eminem employee Joseph Strange pleads guilty to copyright infringement

Former Eminem employee Joseph Strange pleaded guilty on October 22 to one count of criminal copyright infringement involving unreleased recordings, the US Justice Department announced. Prosecutors estimate an infringement amount of at least $750,000, while his lawyer challenges their portrayal of the case.

The plea follows charges brought in March 2025, after buyers put more than 25 songs online that January. Strange was originally charged with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods. The Justice Department said he unlawfully copied and sold recordings that were not authorised for public release.

Prosecutors’ figures and the defence response

Prosecutors quoted in Billboard’s October 22 report said data from several streaming providers showed that the infringing audio files they identified had been accessed more than eight million times by November 2025.

Prosecutors allege that Strange sold the recordings during the summer of 2024 for roughly $50,000. Their separate estimate of at least $750,000 concerns what they call the files’ “infringement amount”, not the alleged sale proceeds. It is a prosecution estimate, not a restitution award or a sentence.

Defence attorney Wade G. Fink told Billboard that the Justice Department’s and others’ “hyperbolic commentary” bore little resemblance to the facts. He described the case as more complicated and nuanced than portrayed, while saying Strange had taken accountability for what he had done.

Access to the unreleased recordings

According to the original criminal complaint, as described by Variety, Strange worked as a sound engineer for Eminem from 2007 to 2021 at a studio in Ferndale, Michigan. The complaint alleged that his work gave him access to the recordings that later leaked. Strange is 48.