New York Buzz Interviews Jared Gustadt, CEO of Jingle Punks
Termeh Mazhari: Tell me about Jingle Punks. What do you guys do?
Jared Gustadt: Jingle Punks is an online stock music database that places hundreds of unsigned artists in TV shows on A&E, MTV, VH1, Food Network and numerous other creative agencies.
We are much different than any production music library out there. First off, we have our entire library online which allows our users to find what they’re looking for in a very efficient manner. All of the music is mapped in relation to existing bands, sound-a-likes, moods, emotions, scenes, etc. Think iTunes. We are constantly adding to our database and have a wide variety of music from across the spectrum that sounds fresh and new, unlike many stock music libraries out there that sound stiff and dated. We specialize in really cool indie acts that hit at a price point that makes it easy for networks to jump in.
Aside from library services, we also provide custom music elements for clients looking to own material for the branding of their shows. Recently Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta hired us to do a library / composer deal and for one flat fee they had all their music needs met quickly and effectively. Currently we have over 200 composers in our roster and over 10,000 cues, presenting clients with quite a bit of choice to fit their needs.
Termeh Mazhari: Who are some of your clients? Anyone famous?
Jared Gustadt: As far as clients go, we don’t really work with anyone “famous” but some of the content we service has some iconic figures in them. We have scored film projects for John Waters. We have done music for Chappelle’s Show and many of the shows we work on for MTV have some well known actors and musicians in them.
We do however have some amazing top tier musicians in our stable that I would consider famous. Our most notable Jingle Punk is probably Chip Taylor. He is best known for writing Angel of the Morning and Wild Thing but in recent years has been at the helm of the Americana movement. We linked up with him through a mutual friend and he has been very generous in allowing us to represent his material. Aside from Chip we have people like Tony DeNiro, Stu Stone and Lukas Kaiser in the mix with us, these cats have worked with everyone in the R&B and Hip Hop world and they use Jingle Punks as holding tank for material they haven’t sold yet.
Termeh Mazhari: How can musicians or production companies get in touch with you?
Jared Gustadt: Best way to hit us up is through our web site (www.jinglepunks.com) or our Facebook page. With the way our system is built we are able to handle many clients at once. We try not to go beyond 10-12 projects per quarter so we can provide all our clients with personal music supervision and the ability to create music for their projects in a timely manner.
It should also be noted that we are always looking for more composers and bands to get into the Jingle Punks library, so if you are a band and you are reading this…submit your music to [email protected]
Termeh Mazhari: Do you think jingles are back in the spotlight?
Jared Gustadt: Custom music is definitely a dying animal. As more and more networks come about and budgets keep shrinking one of the first places people look to cut money is the music budget. I don’t know why that is happening, but I think there is a disconnect between people working in TV and how important a role the music is perceived to be. I think a company like ours is a hybrid solution for people in need of musical content but that do not have the full budgets to execute a score or a jingle.
Termeh Mazhari: I heard you just got back from LA – any cool stories to share?
Jared Gustadt: LA was fun. We had a busy week meeting with and demoing the player for Disney, Nickelodeon, ABC Family, A&E and Scott Free Productions. It was like being on the Amazing Race. We would get in the car, type in our coordinates and race off to places we’ve never been. It was intense and at times very stressful, but in the end the experience turned out to be very beneficial. I feel like we accomplished in one week what it would normally take a month to do in NYC. We had no choice but to set up so many meetings in a small amount of time.
In terms of cool stories in LA I only have one. The last night we were there we got invited to Robin Thicke‘s house for his birthday. When we got there we realized that this was going to be a pretty crazy party, there was open bar, a crazy guest list (including Leonardo DiCaprio, Lukas Hass, Tila Tequila and P. Diddy). I was happy to just meet Diddy and get a photo with him, because, well, because he’s Diddy – and of course also because he’s known for representing the official vodka of New Year’s Eve, Ciroc. I was able to leave LA happy knowing that Diddy and I were friends for life…um sort of…not really.
Jared Gustadt and his new BFF P Diddy
Termeh Mazhari: Do you prefer LA or New York? And why?
Jared Gustadt: NYC. I could never not live in the Lower East Side. I need the hustle n’ bustle and besides, if I moved to LA I would have no clue where I was going.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Interview, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
