Victor Zaraya

About Victor Zaraya

I’m a multiple card-carrying member of the music industry. The current COO of Concord, I was one of the founders of KIDZ BOP at Razor & Tie, where I championed diversified revenue streams and operating profit margin gains that 7x-ed its valuation and sold it to Concord. As Concord continues to invest billions in music assets and IP to achieve global scale and cultural relevance, I’ve led the integration of acquisitions, including Downtown Music, Native Tongue, and the rights to Imagine Dragons, Phil Collins, and Genesis. My ability to build relationships with corporate partners and artists, embrace the industry\'s future, and make businesses more valuable to investors also led to my board service at A2IM, SoundExchange, and the Worldwide Independent Network.“I ORCHESTRATE AND INVEST IN CREATIVE BUSINESS COMBINATIONS”I’m energized by putting together creative, directionally right business combinations, then backing them with resources that deliver. I developed Concord’s digital monetization strategy and led negotiations with partners like Amazon and YouTube. KIDZ BOP became one of North America\'s largest independent music labels and the #1 kids’ music brand in the US—with more than 20M albums sold and 9B streams—because we positioned it as a full-service music entity. We built Razor & Tie by pursuing unexpected niches like a synch music publishing company, early pop music in Nashville, and direct response TV marketing.“I’M AN INCREMENTALIST & A SIMPLIFIER, NOT A TYPICAL VISIONARY”I’ve helped creative leadership teams thrive in a rapidly evolving market through financial and operational discipline. My broad, generalist experience across our diverse businesses allows me to make people and processes better—from HR matters to tech implementations to financial structures to new revenue models. In moving strategic initiatives forward, I lead as a motivator, often providing executive air cover and comic relief to my teams. Known for my intrapreneurial approach that’s free of artifice, I’m conscious of fostering a culture that runs counter to the industry’s reputation by cultivating collaboration and sharing need-to-know know information clearly and transparently. I enjoy serving as a mentor and welcoming people into my office that’s a shrine to soccer and my beloved USMNT and Everton.

Experience

1. Chief Operating Officer Chief Revenue Officer

   Concord

   Jan 2020 — Present · New York, NY, US

   COO (Apr 2021 - Present)Chief Revenue Officer (Jan 2020 - Apr 2021)Concord is the independent, worldwide leader in developing, managing, and acquiring sound recordings, music publishing, and theatrical performance rights. Concord has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, London, Berlin, and Miami.Reporting to the CEO, serve on the senior executive team in realizing the company’s vision of rapid global scale and cultural relevance. Lead an operations team of 100 to support our three divisions\' strategic business and financial goals. Additionally, oversee all acquisitions integrations, information systems, facilities, and real estate and serve on the acquisitions team.* Oversaw the roll-up of billions of dollars of asset acquisitions, including independent music companies like Native Tongue in Australia and the rights to Imagine Dragons, Phil Collins, and Genesis.* Led a complex multi-year integration following a $350M+ acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings’ copyright portfolio.* Serve on the boards of two JV partners: Pulse Recordings (an impressive cadre of current hit songwriters) and Entertainment Intelligence (music industry data and analytics).* Overhauled contract revenue collection and established a global income-tracking team spanning all divisions, generating significant payments for Concord and its creators.* Oversaw new system implementations for accounting, financial reporting, data warehouses for recording music and publishing, and software like Salesforce and JIRA.* Represented Concord to industry groups and trade associations in connection with licensing, enforcement, and lobbying efforts.* As CRO, focused on maximizing revenue through distribution and licensing strategies and optimizing digital music rights.

Education

• University at Buffalo

  BS, Accounting

  1992 — 1996