Hmmmmm......A few observations.

I book 30 - 40 acts per year in a UK concert based folk club. I do bear in mind the distance that an artists is travelling when agreeing fees. I'll also take into account how big an audience they are likely to draw and how keen our regulars are to see them. If I think they are asking too much as a fixed fee I'll agree minimum v door %.

With us running in a village hall and running a couple of mini-fests a year we use the bar & food profits from these to account for the club nights that we lose money.

My wife is developing a career as a full time folk singer/ musician and I can say without a doubt that most (but not all) bookers work on the same principles - she usually agrees a bigger fee for more distant gigs. This seems a reasonable approach to me as travel costs are so high.

I must admit that I am struggling to grasp the points being made by the OP.

Paul