TDE's Keaton Smith
What was the first concert you ever attended?
In 2002 my dad took me to see The Who at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. It was a formative experience, hearing the songs I knew from the radio played live.
You can go back in time and see any concert. Who would you see, and which year/era
James Brown, sometime in the late '60s/early '70s.
What’s the biggest change in a manager’s responsibilities since you started in the biz?
The expansion of the label services industry and direct distribution has transformed the role of a manager to handle responsibilities that might have once been outsourced to a record label. We're pretty much expected to do everything at this point, especially for developing acts.
Name a manager not in your company whom you admire.
This is kind of cheating because he was with TDE for nearly 20 years, but I am forever grateful to Dave Free at pgLang for the things he taught me when I was his assistant.
Describe your favorite all-time photo, memento or tchotchke from your job.
I recently received my Grammy certificate from Doechii's Alligator Bites Never Heal 2024 win for Best Rap Album. It's been an incredible journey over the last 4+ years to support Moosa and Top in working with her. She's very inspiring.