Chris Zarou
Founder & CEO, Visionary Music Group. On 1 show, 2 appearances. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
founderexecutiveinvestoroperator@ChrisZarou ↗backwardscapital.com ↗
Zarou founded Visionary Music Group, where he guided the careers of multi-platinum recording artists including Logic and Jon Bellion. He later launched Backwards Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in consumer, media, and technology startups.
1shows
2appearances
11statements
2resolved
1supported
0contradicted
50%fully supported
12said about them ↓ Everything Chris Zarou said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Zarou: Distributing free music builds a loyal fanbase to monetize later
“I viewed that, putting out free music, as investing in the brand, right? As we were building an audience and a fan base that That was becoming more and more invested, and what that means is that they would later down the road, whenever we asked for it, spend t…”
Zarou: Dedicated touring audiences will reliably convert to paid album buyers
“If they're coming to shows and selling out Rooms across the country, and we're selling out shows all over Europe, they're gonna buy an album for seven 99.”
Zarou: Releasing free music builds brand equity monetizable through tours and merch
“I viewed that, putting out free music as investing in the brand, right? As we were building an audience and a fan base That was becoming more and more invested, and what that means is that they would, later down the road, whenever we asked for it, spend the mo…”
Def Jam rejected Zarou for an internship before later signing Logic
“It was Def Jam, which is ultimately where, where Logic's, Logic signed to probably a year, a little bit over a year after that, so.”
Zarou's Visionary Music Group signed a joint venture label with Sony
“I just did a joint venture label with Sony music, which I'm very, very excited about.”
Def Jam Rejected Chris Zarou for an Internship a Year Before Signing Logic
“It was Def Jam, which is ultimately where, where Logic's, Logic signed to probably a year, a little bit over a year after that, so.”
Zarou: Logic sold 100,000 tour tickets before releasing a commercial record
“We had sold a 100,000 tickets and X number of dollars in merch. So that's going to translate because it's fans who are invested in him, right?”
Zarou chose artist management due to its low barrier to entry
“And I chose management because I thought it would be the least barrier to entry. And I was like, okay, if I find talent and start working with them, that would be my way into the business.”
Visionary Music Group COO Harrison Remler started working for Zarou at 18
“The COO of Visionary Music Group, Harrison Remler, at the time, he was in school. He was 18 years old.”
Logic's 2012 debut national tour carried no performance guarantees
“At the time that tour was actually a no guarantee tour.”
The other half of the tape: Chris Zarou's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 4 times in 3 episodes across the shows. 8 statements on the record name them. every mention, with the transcript →
Who brings them up most Guy Raz 4
Statements about Chris Zarou, by other people (8)
Logic refuses to delegate full authority without direct personal oversight
“If I'm not involved, I trust no one with my money, with my company, with my this, with my that, if I'm not involved. Like, I trust Chris with my life, but I'm not just gonna be like, just go take it. Not because I don't trust him, but because I don't work that…”
Logic and Zarou turned down a $1.5M indie contract while broke
“In front of us. And Chris had it. And I remember he said something really corny. It was really funny. Like he was just excited. He was like, how much you think our brand that we're creating is worth? And I was like, I don't know. And he was like, Well, somebod…”
Logic: Independent labels offered a $1.5 million contract early in his career
“And, you know, there was even independent companies that put a contract for 1.5 million dollars in our hands.”
Manager Chris Zarou conceived naming Logic's hit song after suicide hotline
“And it was Chris who had the idea to make it, you know, and really give it the whole Number, because then we could reach people and give them that platform.”
Logic and Chris Zarou are equal partners in Elysium record label
“I have a record label, and we're both equal partners on that, that, that we run together, called Elysium, with artists that I've signed”
Logic and manager Chris Zarou co-own record label Elysium as equals
“Even still, I have a record label, and we're both equal partners on that, that, that we run together, called Elysium, with artists that I've signed, that we believe in”
Logic: 'Mind of Logic' video gained 20,000 views overnight in 2011
“We released the music video, and like, overnight, it had 20,000 views.”
Logic: Chris Zarou managed him unsigned for their first six months
“I was like, I don't want to sign anything. If we're going to do this, like, I don't want to say anything. And he wasn't pushing to sign anything either. And that's a really amazing thing. Because he allowed, he was like, yo, I'm going to walk the walk. Like, I…”
Every mention by year
tap a year for its mentions
How I Built This 4
2025 1 mention in 1 episode
2021 1 mention in 1 episode
2019 2 mentions in 1 episode
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Chris's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOW I BUILT THISLEDGER | Founder & CEO, Visionary Music Group | 2 | 11 | 50% 1/2 | full record on How I Built This → |