A health enthusiast prepares a protein shake. Credit: Kelly Sikkema
Last August, a source told DMN that Noah Becker, former President of AdRev, was a cooperating witness in a federal investigation into the MediaMuv royalty fraud. Now that one of the perpetrators has been sentenced to 70 months in prison (his accomplice will be sentenced next month), Becker has apparently escaped his guilt – and has snagged a gig far outside the music industry.
As reported in June, Jose Teran, who agreed to a deal in February, was sentenced (as recommended by the government) to 70 months in prison for his involvement in the highly publicized MediaMuv scam. All in all, he and his partner were involved in the illegal operation that saw the two falsely claiming ownership of themselves about 50,000 (predominantly Spanish-language) songs brought in approximately $23 million in royalties not owned by them, according to the signed consent forms.
And while the duo’s sentencing — not to mention the logistical hurdles involved in delivering some of the stolen royalties to victims — has grabbed headlines lately, the aforementioned Noah Becker’s professional status has remained largely below that Radar.
MediaMuv hired AdRev to collect the royalties at the heart of the scam, as well as a large sum report by Billboard painted an unflattering picture of Becker’s alleged role in ignoring concerns about MediaMuv (and continuing to work with him).
Although the AdRev co-founder left the company in August 2022 after nine months as a “strategic advisor,” he does not appear to have publicly commented on the circumstances of his exit. But aside from seemingly escaping guilt – a source pointed out as describing him as a cooperating witness – the Nest Society board member is now leading a business venture unrelated to music.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Becker is the CEO and primary investor in nutrigaZm, billed as “the world’s first small batch hemp-based protein powder composed ONLY of whole foods, superfoods, and adaptogenic ingredients.” On the same page, Becker took up his post in August 2022 and co-founded the protein powder company with Kaytee Long Becker, president of DIY Public Relations, and one other Sebastian Roberts.
Priced at a whopping $99.99 per 32-ounce pouch, this Dark German Techno Chocolate flavored vegan powder contains “11 of the world’s most powerful superfoods” and “can help with weight loss and more,” the label says nutrigaZm’s website. We will return focus to AdRev, Downtown in early 2023 quietly folded splitting into its FUGA distributor – “Adrev (part of FUGA)” is the company’s updated LinkedIn title.
And former AdRev SVP of Operations Andrew Korn, who, according to Billboard, “told federal investigators that he was acting on Becker’s direction” when it came to “urging YouTube to automatically grant MediaMuv’s claimed copyrights in bulk.” confirm,” now holds the same position at FUGA himself, reveals his own LinkedIn page.