Joseph Strange, a former sound engineer for Eminem, pleaded guilty Thursday to criminal infringement of a copyright, admitting he copied the rapper’s unreleased music and sold it online. Strange, 48, of Holly, Michigan, spent 2007 to 2021 at Eminem’s studio in Ferndale, Michigan, where he helped run the computer system that stored the rapper’s works in progress, according to the Justice Department.
Federal prosecutors first charged Strange in March 2025 with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods. He pleaded guilty to the copyright count alone, and the transportation charge was dropped as part of his plea deal, Complex reported. He faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 27, 2027.
What Joseph Strange Admitted To
Under the plea, Strange acknowledged copying 10 or more audio files of Eminem’s music, some still in development, without permission. Between July and August 2024, he sold those files to buyers over the internet for a total of about $50,000, all without Eminem’s knowledge, the Justice Department said.
That’s where the leak began. More than 25 unreleased Eminem songs surfaced online in January 2025, prompting studio employees to contact the FBI, Variety reported. Streaming data cited by prosecutors shows the leaked tracks had been accessed more than 8 million times by November 2025. The government puts the infringement amount at $750,000 or more.
The Buyer Known As Doja Rat
Several buyers pointed investigators toward Strange. One of them, a Canadian fan who went by the screen name Doja Rat, told the FBI he paid about $50,000 in bitcoin for songs, according to the original criminal complaint. Doja Rat also claimed Strange told him he had more than 300 unreleased tracks, plus handwritten lyric sheets. That 300-song figure comes from the buyer’s account alone; the Justice Department did not repeat it when announcing the plea.
FBI agents had already searched Strange’s home on Jan. 28, 2025, weeks before he was charged. They recovered handwritten Eminem lyric sheets and notes, along with hard drives holding about 12,000 audio files, The Associated Press reported at the time.
Responses To The Plea
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division addressed the case in a statement. “Joseph Strange abused a position of trust to unlawfully copy and sell unreleased music belonging to Eminem, profiting from works that were not yet authorized for public distribution,” Duva said. “His conduct undermined both legal and artistic rights.”
U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan also weighed in. “Our republic is built on the right to property,” Gorgon said.
Strange’s attorney, Wade Fink, said after the hearing that his client is a good man whose children have suffered through the case, and that the situation is more complicated than simple theft, Paste reported.
A representative for Eminem did not return Variety’s request for comment on the plea. When Strange was first charged in 2025, Eminem spokesman Dennis Dennehy said the damage Strange caused “cannot be overstated.”
What The Guilty Plea Means
Strange’s plea puts on the court record what investigators alleged for more than a year: The leak started with him. The admission itself is narrower than the full leak, though. It covers 10 or more files sold during a two-month window in 2024, not the 300-plus tracks Doja Rat says Strange claimed to have. Other buyers have not been publicly identified, and Doja Rat’s real name has not been released.
The case highlights the exposure artists face when unreleased work sits in the hands of studio staff and collaborators. It also lands while Eminem keeps putting out official new music, including his collaboration with Kid Rock on “Heal My Faith” and a guest verse on Ez Mil’s “Madara,” featured in Total Apex Entertainment’s recent new music roundup.
What’s Next
Strange is set to be sentenced Jan. 27, 2027. A judge will weigh federal sentencing guidelines and other factors, with five years in prison as the maximum for criminal copyright infringement. The charge also carries a fine of up to $250,000. No other court dates tied to the case have been reported.
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