Let's make a better deal.

Billboard, May, 2005 by Waddell, Ray

Was 2004 a year riddled with bad shows or bad deals?

Although promoters talked of getting hammered last year, actual attendance was virtually flat--not the downward spiral that was perceived. So all signs point to bad deals rather than bad shows.

Either way, there is much posturing among agents, promoters and managers that deals must improve in 2005.

But has the deal paradigm shifted at all? While creative structures and components are out there, some say many of the same mistakes are being repeated and short-term thinking still prevails.

"The deal-making process has changed only a little," House of Blues Concerts executive VP Alex Hodges says. "The deals have been dominated by the Clear Channel Entertainment checkbook and its...

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