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Eminem’s Former Employee Pleads Guilty to Illegally Leaking the Rapper’s Music

Eminem has more than two dozen songs leaked from his private studio, and one of his ex-employees has confessed to the copyright crime.

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

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One of Eminem’s former employees has confessed to illegally leaking over two dozen of the rapper’s unreleased songs.

The man—48-year-old Joseph Strange of Holly, MI—worked at Eminem’s music studio for 14 years. He was charged in the music leak case back in March 2025. On Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, Strange pleaded guilty to criminal infringement of a copyright.

“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,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

“His conduct undermined both legal and artistic rights. The Criminal Division remains committed to protecting intellectual property, holding accountable those who seek to profit from theft of creative content, and working with our law enforcement partners to deter........

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