Eminem’s Rep Slams Former Employee Charged With Stealing and Selling 25 Unreleased Songs Online; Here's All You Need to Know

Eminem's rep blasts former employee charged with music theft following FBI investigation. Read on to know the details.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 21, 2025 | 04:44 PM GMT | 2.2K

CC: Getty Images

Eminem's longtime publicist has opened up about the recent theft of his unreleased tracks by a former sound engineer Joseph Strange. Strange is under federal indictment on charges of stealing and selling the rapper's unreleased material on the Internet.

Strange was employed at the Detroit rapper's Ferndale studio for 14 years till 2021. He reportedly stole over 25 unreleased tracks recorded between 1999 and 2018. The FBI uncovered handwritten lyric sheets, VHS tape, and hard drives containing unpublished music by Em in Strange's house.

The Godzilla rapper's publicist applauded the efforts of the FBI, citing the immense financial damage it did. The publicist told People, "Eminem and his team are very appreciative of the efforts by the FBI Detroit bureau for its thorough investigation which led to the charges against Joe Strange."

In the statement, the company reiterated the "extensive financial damage" and impairment of Mathers' artistic value, promising all means necessary would be taken to preserve his works as well as those of those who worked on them.

"The significant damage caused by a trusted employee to Eminem's artistic legacy and creative integrity cannot be overstated, let alone the enormous financial losses incurred by the many creators and collaborators that deserve protection for their decades of work," the representative of the rapper said, adding, "We will continue to take any and all steps necessary to protect Eminem's art and will stop at nothing to do so."

The leaks were detected by studio staff in January, who informed the FBI. Em's staff, the complaint stated, went online and was able to access an image representing a list of unreleased tracks — a list that they recognized as coming from the studio's internal files. The evidence made it seem impossible that the files could have been pilfered by anyone lacking direct access to the secure environment.

If found guilty, Joe Strange can be sentenced to five years behind bars and fined USD 250,000 for copyright infringement, in addition to the possibility of a 10-year jail time for interstate transportation of stolen goods.