Reply to How crucial is choosing a "Key" for your tracks? Do you even bother? (Music Theory Q)

I've been producing for a while now, and I've always had the same questions which I've never really searched for an answers for, so I'm hoping this thread will clear things up for me..

I have been wondering for a while whether or not producers actively decide one a key before or during the production of a track.

I had played piano for around 2 years when I was much younger (I say much younger, I'm only 20 now..), but I can't remember a whole lot from it - I can read music and know the notes etc, all the basic stuff, but I was never at the level of composing my own piece back in the day.. So here's where the questions come in..

I figure there are two ways of tackling a song; either choose a key, or just go by what sounds good.

I guess there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to music, but, do music producers actively choose a key for their songs? If you were to pick a key, do you stick to it throughout the whole track? How do you pick what key to use? Is it not limiting choosing a key?

should I be learning basic scales, and do you know of any good ways to re-teach myself this aspect of music theory?