Eminem, LeBron James Release ‘How Music Got Free’ Documentary Trailer

Eminem and LeBron James, two iconic figures in their respective fields, have joined forces for an upcoming documentary, How Music Got Free, for Paramount+. The Hollywood Reporter describes the new docuseries as a “fascinating, and often funny, inside story of the technology-driven disruption that changed music during the late-’90s and early-2000s,” offering a unique perspective from these influential personalities. 

“File sharing technology, combined with the insatiable demand for new music, created both the means and the motive for millions of young people to participate in outright theft — and be celebrated for it,” the film’s official synopsis reads.

A new trailer was released on Tuesday (May 21), showing off the first look at the film and what’s to come. Eminem is the first person give his thoughts in the trailer, detailing how foreign the concept of the internet was in the late ’90s. Still, the idea of music piracy forced him to pay attention as the practice threatened his career as a musician and other people working for him. 

“When Napster came about, I didn’t understand the internet yet,” the Detroit emcee says in the trailer. “I thought Yahoo was a person… Here’s what you don’t understand, if music should be free, I have an entire army of people that need their paycheck.” 

The trailer also features notable music figures, including Timbaland, 50 Cent, Steve Stout, Jimmy Iovine, Rocsi Diaz, Rhymefest, and others. 

How Music Got Free is co-produced by LeBron James and Eminem, while Alex Stapleton directed the docuseries. Stapleton explained his vision for the Paramount docuseries, stating, “As a filmmaker, I wanted to challenge the narrow lens of who we regard as tech innovators. How Music Got Free is a story that proves brilliant minds can be found in unlikely places, like the rural, forgotten factory town of Shelby, North Carolina.”

Warner Bros’ Unscripted Television will produce the film, along with LeBron’s SpringHill banner, Interscope Films, and Em’s Shady Films. The project will premiere on June 11 on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada and be released internationally on June 12.

Watch the trailer above.