Former Studio Engineer Charged with Stealing Unreleased Eminem Music, Selling it Online

FILE - Eminem performs during "Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central," June 6, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
FILE - Eminem performs during "Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central," June 6, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
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Former Studio Engineer Charged with Stealing Unreleased Eminem Music, Selling it Online

FILE - Eminem performs during "Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central," June 6, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
FILE - Eminem performs during "Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central," June 6, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

A former Eminem studio engineer was charged Wednesday with stealing the Detroit rapper's unreleased music and selling it online, federal prosecutors announced.

Investigators say more than 25 songs have been played or distributed online without the consent of Eminem or Interscope Capital Labels Group, which owns Eminem’s music, The Associated Press reported. The music was stored on password-protected hard drives kept in a safe at Eminem's studio in Ferndale, a Detroit suburb, according to an FBI affidavit.

Joseph Strange, 46, of Holly, Michigan, was charged via a criminal complaint with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods, Acting US Attorney Julie Beck in Detroit said. Strange, who lost his job at Eminem's studio in 2021, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of both counts.

Strange's attorney, Wade Fink, said in a text to AP that Strange is a married father of two “with decades of dedication to the music industry.″ He called the charges “untested allegations” that haven't been vetted by a grand jury or a judge.

“We will handle the matter in a courtroom and we have great faith in the judges of our district,” he said.

Studio employees reported the theft to the FBI in January, saying unreleased music that was still in development was being played on various websites, including Reddit and YouTube.

A review showed someone transferred files from a hard drive in a safe to an external hard drive in October 2019 and January 2020, when Strange was a sound engineer at the studio.
Investigators found buyers after Eminem business associate Fred Nassar posted an online warning to fans not to distribute the music.

A Canadian resident who used the screen name Doja Rat told investigators he had purchased 25 unreleased songs from Strange for about $50,000 in Bitcoin. He said he raised the money from a group of fans of Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III.

Strange also was trying to sell some of Eminem's handwritten lyric sheets, Doja Rat said.
Another group of fans organized by someone in Connecticut using the screen name ATL also purchased a “couple” of songs from Strange for about $1,000, according to the affidavit.
An FBI search of Strange's home in January turned up numerous handwritten Eminem lyric sheets and notes; a VHS tape of an unreleased Eminem video; and hard drives with 12,000 audio files. Some of the files contained music in various stages of development by Eminem and unidentified artists working with him, according to the affidavit.

Eminem won for best hip-hop act at the 2024 MTV EMAs and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

The affidavit notes that Strange signed an agreement as part of his severance package that specifically prohibited him from electronically circulating Eminem's work.
“Protecting intellectual property from thieves is critical in safeguarding the exclusive rights of creators and protecting their original work from reproduction and distribution by individuals who seek to profit from the creative output of others,” Beck said in a news release.



Stars Convene for AmfAR Gala to Raise Millions for AIDS Research

US singer Bebe Rexha arrives to attend the annual amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Cannes Gala at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d'Antibes, southern France, on the sidelines of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, on May 25, 2023. (AFP)
US singer Bebe Rexha arrives to attend the annual amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Cannes Gala at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d'Antibes, southern France, on the sidelines of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, on May 25, 2023. (AFP)
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Stars Convene for AmfAR Gala to Raise Millions for AIDS Research

US singer Bebe Rexha arrives to attend the annual amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Cannes Gala at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d'Antibes, southern France, on the sidelines of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, on May 25, 2023. (AFP)
US singer Bebe Rexha arrives to attend the annual amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Cannes Gala at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d'Antibes, southern France, on the sidelines of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, on May 25, 2023. (AFP)

Artwork by Adrien Brody and James Franco and a chance to sit courtside at a Knicks game with director Spike Lee were among the starry offerings at the annual amfAR Gala to raise money for AIDS research.

Held at the famous Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes on Thursday, the evening attracted scores of celebrities in the area for the Cannes Film Festival. Guests included Brody, Lee, Colman Domingo, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, and Heidi Klum, The Associated Press said.

This year’s top items for sale included a Dodge Charger that featured in “Fast X,” sold off by Rodriguez, raising 475,000 euros ($536,843). There were also some Chopard pear-shaped, yellow-diamond earrings that reached 400,000 ($452,005) euros in the bidding.

During the meal guests were also entertained with musical performances from Ciara, who opened the night, Adam Lambert and headlining the dinner with Duran Duran. Guest shimmied from their tables to the front of the room to stand in front of the stage and sing along to hits like “Notorious” and “View to a Kill” (which wouldn't be the only James Bond reference of the night).

The sale included artwork from Brody — sold for 375,000 euros ($423,755) with lunch with the star thrown in — and Franco — (sold for 325,000 euros ($367,254) also with a lunch offered with the winning bid. Another highlight was a May 2025 George Condo painting that raised 1.15 million euros ($1.26 million).

Lee came to the stage and offered a surprise lot, a walk-on part in his next movie. Part of the way through the bidding he added tickets to sit next to him courtside at a New York Nicks game next season, driving the price up to 400,000 euros ($452,005).

The fashion show is a regular feature of the auction curated by Carine Roitfeld, this year was Bond-inspired and saw 27 models turn the middle of the dinning room into a catwalk as they paraded through the room waving at guests they recognized and posing for photos on route. The collection made 450,000 euros ($508,505) for the charity, auctioned off as one complete lot.

The Foundation for AIDS Research, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy. Since 1985, amfAR has raised nearly $950 million (841 million euros) in support of its programs and has awarded more than 3,800 grants to research teams worldwide.