Former Sound Engineer for Eminem Pleads Guilty to Copyright Infringement

Joseph Strange, who was Eminem’s sound engineer for 14 years, has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the unauthorized release of unreleased music. According to reports, he admitted to leaking over twenty tracks in 2025.

On October 22, Strange entered a guilty plea for a single count of criminal copyright infringement. Allegedly, he stole the demo tracks and sold them for $50,000, although those tracks were later estimated to be worth much more.

He could face up to five years in prison for his actions, as noted by various sources.

“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,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva. He emphasized that Strange’s actions undermined legal and artistic rights.

Strange’s defense attorney, Wade G. Fink, argued that his client is “a good man whose children have suffered greatly in all of this.” He claimed that the portrayal of the case has been exaggerated. “Hyperbolic commentary from the Justice Department and others bears little resemblance to the actual facts of the case,” Fink stated. “This is a much more complicated and nuanced matter than it is being made to seem.”

Strange was initially charged in March with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen property after the music surfaced online in early 2025. The leaked songs included collaborations with notable artists like 50 Cent and Dr. Dre, as well as a diss track from 2003 involving Suge Knight and Ja Rule.

Prosecutors highlighted the tracks’ substantial value following their release, noting that evidence indicated the infringing audio files had been accessed over eight million times by November 2025. They estimate that the damages from the theft amount to at least $750,000.

Sentencing for Strange is scheduled for January 27.