Commissions can work as compensation when the take is large, but aren't as helpful for establishing artists. And so, having some sort of guarantee of labor, expense, and materials coverage becomes necessary to embark on a booking project for up-and-coming acts.

Basically, and you'll find this is true with most Agents, they'll need to be covered whether the door makes money or not. Nobody wants to hear this, because they hope Agents can simply take a small percentage and be fine with that. But just as gas has gone up, everything costs, and your Agent is a primary advocate. He or she is your calling card, and you gotta to make sure that Agent can afford to push you...