A Canadian kid with a tape machine, a NYU degree, and a nickname that wouldn't let go. 2 exits later he's just getting started.
Jared Gutstadt — known to his collaborators simply as Jingle Jared — has spent two decades quietly composing, scoring, and re-shaping the business of music for screen and headphones alike. What follows is the long version.
- 1977
Born in Toronto, Ontario
Jared Adam Gutstadt enters the world on September 19. A musical childhood and an early obsession with editing video to the right needle-drop set the course.
- 2000
Moves to New York City
Enrolls at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts after studying media and culture at the University of Western Ontario. Earns an MA in Interactive Technology in 2002.
- 2002
Cuts tape at Viacom
Lands at MTV editing MTV Cribs and Chappelle's Show. Faces the same problem every editor faces: he can't afford the music. So he starts writing it himself in the bay.
- 2005
Earns the nickname
Chappelle's Show executive producer Neal Brennan discovers Jared's homemade cues hidden in the edits and dubs him a 'Jingle Punk.' The name sticks for life.
- 2008
Founds Jingle Punks Music
With co-founder Dan Demole, launches a production-music house in NYC. Within a decade it becomes one of the largest licensing libraries in the world: ~500,000 songs, music in 1,000+ TV series. The company 10x'd the investment and sold twice.
- 2010 – 2014
Five consecutive ASCAP Awards
Wins ASCAP Film & TV Awards every year for scoring The Voice and composing the iconic Pawn Stars theme — co-written with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
- 2012
Acquired by William Morris Endeavor
WME takes a majority stake in Jingle Punks — the first of two exits, with the catalog 10x'ing the initial investment before selling again in 2015.
- 2014
On stage with Nas in Johannesburg
Performs in South Africa with The Hipster Orchestra backing Nas through the entirety of Illmatic. The concert is later commemorated through nine NFTs benefitting Nile Rodgers' We Are Family Foundation.
- 2016 – 2019
Writing rooms with the greats
Co-writes 'Hold On' for Steven Tyler, 'No Mercy' for Lil Wayne, three songs with Timbaland on Brad Paisley's Love and War, the Miami Marlins anthem with DJ Khaled, and produces Jelly Roll's pivotal Whiskey Sessions.
- 2019
Bear and a Banjo
Releases the genre-defining musical podcast with Poo Bear, narrated by Dennis Quaid, with an original song from Bob Dylan and production by T Bone Burnett.
- 2020
Founds Audio Up Media
Leaves Jingle Punks — which 10x'd the investment and sold twice — to launch Audio Up, 'an HBO for your ears.' Closes a $4.5M investment from MGM Studios with a first-look adaptation deal. Later raises from The Weeknd, SiriusXM, Primary Wave, and Reservoir Media.
- 2024
Audio Chateau × Virgin · Rebel Audio AI
Launches Audio Chateau Records in partnership with Virgin Music Group, and co-founds Rebel Audio AI — a generative-audio platform for the next generation of creators.
- 2026
Mark Burnett backs Rebel Audio · Mike Majlak joins
Survivor super-producer Mark Burnett invests in Rebel Audio; Mike Majlak is named Chief Creator in Residence as the platform launches its creator program.