Agents are not parasites - that's just purile. Like performers they do a day's work for an day's pay. Full time artists are often unable or unwilling to book gigs because they don't have the skills, the contacts or - once they get busy - the time. Remember, agents work for artists, not the other way round. If we didn't need them they could not survive. And prices are NOT hiked to pay agents. The reason is this: Only artists who can command higher fees can afford to hire an agent.

Market forces set the price. Get used to it.