LeBron James, Steve Stoute, and other celebrities joined forces with Eminem to executive produce a new music-related documentary series. Tuesday, May 21, saw the announcement by Paramount+ of the two-part documentary How Music Got Free and the publication of a trailer.

How Music Got Free, directed by Alexandria Stapleton, explores how music piracy fundamentally upended the music industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The documentary series debuted earlier this year at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival, narrated by Method Man.The docuseries, as described by Paramount Plus, “features the quirky genius of the heretofore unknown pirates,’ the drama of the FBI investigations and convictions, and the frontline accounts of music’s biggest artists and executives.” It travels from New York City to Los Angeles to the small factory town of Shelby, North Carolina. “An incredible tale of deceit, criminality, fame, and ingenuity, these are the moments that forever altered the music industry.”

The documentary features appearances by Eminem, fellow executive producer Steve Stoute, 50 Cent, Timbaland, Jimmy Iovine, the head of Interscope Records, and others.The film How Music Got Free is based on the same-titled book. Dell Glover, a worker at a North Carolina manufacturing facility who was instrumental in the music leaks, was highlighted in the book and documentary series.”I wanted to challenge the narrow lens of who we consider to be tech innovators as a filmmaker,” Stapleton stated. “The tale of How Music Got Free demonstrates that bright minds can be discovered in unexpected locations, such as Shelby, North Carolina, a sleepy, abandoned factory town.”

On June 11, How Music Got Free will make its premiere exclusively on Paramount+ in the United States and Canada. On June 12, the documentary series will be accessible in the United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America, and a number of European nations.