Taken from a SXSW press release:
“South By Southwest (SXSW) is pleased to announce the keynote speaker for the 2004 Music Conference, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, president & CEO of Arista Records. The keynote conversation, to be conducted by Craig Marks, editor of Blender Magazine, kicks off three days of panels and workshops on Thursday, March 18, 2004 at the Austin Convention Center.
Reid’s tenure at Arista has seen the successes of Outkast, Pink, Dido, Neptunes, Usher, Avril Lavigne and more. In a business atmosphere of consolidation and retreat, Reid has bucked the odds and established Arista as a key player in a changing label landscape.”
A friend of mine had to do a performance in some board room for L.A. and she said it was one of the scariest things she’s ever had to do.