Audio Up, Jingle Punks exec allegedly raped songwriter, lawsuit says

A new lawsuit accuses Jared Gutstadt, an L.A. music publishing and podcast executive who founded the firms Audio Up and Jingle Punks, of raping and assaulting one of his company’s songwriters.

In the suit, filed Dec. 31 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Mary Koons (known professionally as Scarlett Burke), alleges that Gutstadt subjected her to “years of psychological manipulation, physical violence and sexual abuse.” Those claims include “repeated sexual assaults, including rape”; sex trafficking; thwarting professional opportunities when she declined his advances; and “stalking, harassment, intimidation and retaliation when Ms. Koons attempted to distance herself from him.”

“I felt so disgusted and ashamed,” Koons said in an interview, speaking about her experience with Gutstadt. “It was so difficult to stand up to this person. It was like he felt entitled to my entire life and body.”

Representatives for Gutstadt declined to comment on the suit.

“We are proud of our courageous client, Scarlett Burke, for coming forward to stop what she experienced at the hands of Mr. Gutstadt from ever happening to another young artist again,” said Gabrielle Rosen Harvey, an attorney at Filippatos PLLC, who is representing Koons.

Gutstadt rose to prominence in the music and audio industries with companies that promised lucrative opportunities to emerging songwriters and performers. He founded Jingle Punks, a library music and licensing firm for film and TV, in 2008, and sold a majority stake to WME in a reported eight-figure deal in 2012. He launched Audio Up, a platform for musicians to write and perform scripted podcast musicals, in 2020 with a $4.5-million investment from MGM and other investors. Audio Up has released projects featuring Miranda Lambert and Machine Gun Kelly, attracted investment from the Weeknd and partnered with music publishing firm Anthem Entertainment.

Jared Gutstadt, known as “Jingle Jared,” photographed at his Mandeville Canyon compound in Los Angeles.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Koons, an actor, songwriter and model, said in her suit that she met Gutstadt at the Peppermint Club in West Hollywood in 2017. His firm placed a song she recorded on the Netflix series “Girls Incarcerated,” and he soon “overwhelmed Ms. Koons with lavish gifts and gestures.” The two would later work on the podcast musical “Make It Up as We Go,” a series about a fictional singer-songwriter that recalls “A Star Is Born.”

Koons alleges in her suit that, on a work trip to Nashville in 2017, Gutstadt brought her to his hotel room and “forcibly grabbed her hand and put it on his penis,” the first of several alleged assaults. “Because Mr. Gutstadt was deeply entrenched in every aspect of Ms. Koons’ life, he wielded his control with constant threats to destroy her career,” her suit said.

In 2019, after a meeting when Koons asked to renegotiate her contract, Koons alleges in her suit that “Mr. Gutstadt became violent, hitting Ms. Koons, her dog, and breaking her property.” Later that year, after an argument in a Santa Barbara hotel room, she alleges in her suit that Gutstadt “violently tackled her to the ground, pinning her wrists to the bed, leaving visible bruises.” Koons said she would often “barricade herself in a guest bedroom at the Audio Up compound to escape from Mr. Gutstadt,” but “in a drunken rampage, Gutstadt would break through … and pick the lock.”

Koons alleges in her suit that Gutstadt sexually assaulted her in 2022 in Los Angeles after a recording session, when she claims she woke up to “Mr. Gutstadt on top of her, raping her in her sleep. When Ms. Koons realized what was happening, she froze … until Mr. Gutstadt finished, fearful of what more he could do to her.” After she confronted him, Koons alleges that Gustadt told her, “Shut up … nobody raped you.” She alleges in her suit that he raped her again in a Pasadena hotel room in 2023 before an Audio Up songwriting retreat.

Koons finally cut ties with Gutstadt and Audio Up this year, and said in her suit that her PTSD from her time with him “permeates every aspect of her life.”

“I’ve had so many nightmares about this,” Koons said in an interview. “I can’t tell you about all the anxiety. I’m afraid to walk my dog because I’m still afraid of him harming me. But I’m trying to figure out who I am without this person ruining my life and relationships. I’ve started to remember the person and the songwriter I was before I met him, and I want to be that person again.”