Fake Nashville Music Producer Attempts To Lure Young Singers

Facebook/Rick Barker

A man pretending to be a record producer has been caught trying to trick young girls into meeting with him.

According to multiple articles published by Billboard, WSMV Nashville, and other sources – this man has been engaging with young girls online by posing as a music industry official. 

“Keith Messner” allegedly approached more than one 12-year-old girl on Twitter, pretending to be a representative of Warner Music Nashville’s A&R department, but as a further investigation reveals, he is not part of the music label and attorneys for Warner have no idea who he is. 

Strangely, Messner shares the same name as a man who was sentenced in 2000 for molesting two teenage girls under the same deceptive tactics and promises of musical stardom. 

Messner messaged 12-year-old Taylor Gayle just last week and made some strange comments to her on Twitter, also saying that “Warner Music Nashville will be out in full force to see u perform” suggesting that he would be at her upcoming Commodore Grille performance. 

When Gayle’s mother got wind of this, she began investigating – only to discover that the email address he used to contact her daughter was generic and not part of Warner Music Group.

That’s when she spoke to Rick Barker who runs music development service Music Industry Blueprint. His company has been helping young artists and their parents navigate the confusing music industry for years, and as a client, Gayle’s mom asked him to check out Messner’s credentials. 

As she suspected, he had none. 

At that point, Rick Barker posted a video warning everyone to stay away from him and be weary of strangers posing as industry officials online – reminding parents that it’s their responsibility to vet anyone contacting them or their children. 

Since then, the video has been seen more than 84,000 times. 

Watch Barker’s video below and let us know what you think.