Let me attempt to carefully criticize the business decision and not our beloved Mr. Diamond...

I've had the same conversation with several AD's in SW Ohio. Two primary complaints.

1) Performers changing their prices mid-year: At some point the client and performer agreed upon a price and term for the dates involved. I've heard firsthand that some AD's felt "we had a deal" and that announcing a price change was unprofessional. I've been asked what if the AD's sent out a letter saying, "We're sorry, but due to circumstances beyond our control, we'll be reducing all the pay for entertainment by X %, effective such and such a date." How would I like that? Its happened and I didn't like it. In some cases I stayed on, in others I left. Other factors influenced my decision.

Also, let's not confuse entertainers and corporations. Some entertainers try and be totally fair with regard to prices and go out of their way to work with AD's. Others, however, grossly overcharge, under-perform, etc. and gouge NH's as much as they can. Corporations really don't worry whether we like it or not. Its business, not personal. Knowing Gary, this is apples and Volkeswagons. Gary knows names, stories, etc. better than most of the Corporate/stuffed shirt types do.

Given the long term relationship Gary's had with his clients, I'm still surprised that he didn't deliver the intentions face to face. THAT, I think might have been the best way to handle it. Not the only way, but IMO, the best way.

2) Entertainers citing transportation costs/gasoline prices as justification for raising fees: This is a huge irritant to many AD's in the Dayton market. A few years ago, when gas shot up to almost $4.00/gallon, several acts upped their fees by 20-25 bucks per gig. They described it as a "temporary price increase due to market conditions beyond their control." Most AD's went along with it. However, a few months later when gas prices dropped back to the $3.20 range, most of these acts refused to drop their fees back to their previous levels. Some survived, but others lost dozens of gigs because of it.

Don't forget that the IRS upped the mileage reimbursement rate several cents that year for business travel. Further, if you're organised, you should be able to write off a great deal of your business related expenses.

Again, I think Gary knows his people/clients as good as anyone, so if that's how he felt it should be handled, great. I imagine anyone who did call him with a concern would be accommodated rather quickly. From a sheer business point of view, I'd advise anyone to tread carefully when thinking about independently changing the terms of an agreement. Our word/handshake has to be absolute...bad market conditions or not.