Never Sell Out: Dan Smalls on Building Something Real in the Music Industry

Dan Smalls is one of the most respected independent concert promoters in the country. With over 35 years experience, he built DSP (Dan Smalls Presents) from a single 1,600 seat theater in Ithaca, NY into a company doing 800+ shows a year across the Northeast. He's worked with legendary artists Pearl Jam, Phish & Blues Traveler, produced Phish’s epic end-of-summer festivals that drew up to 100,000 people and runs the Green River Festival in Massachusetts, happening in June. He did it all while staying fiercely independent.In this conversation, Dan shares his full origin story, from booking Blues Traveler at Cornell frat parties to getting hand-picked by the legendary Bill Graham, to nearly walking away from music entirely before finding his way back.We get into what it really takes to be an independent promoter, how he thinks about risk and what artists at any level can learn about building a career on their own terms.