I think it's a bit too easy to take pot shots at well known djs for asking for high fees
it's more the promoters for massaging their egos and letting them get away with it.
I get horror stories regularly , sometimes by the very promoters who I am playing for.....
now thats weird.

I keep my fee low , but i push it up when i can ( festivals etc )
but if you are used to playing awakening , Monegros , I love Techno, Ibiza etc etc etc
then i guess you assume you can get that kind of money everywhere
and if people pay it to you and lose out a result then.........

the change has to come from the inside
new faces, getting their mates down to see them play and working with the venues
to create a scene that will last and go forward.
and possibly earn dosh , also production is a must these days for any artist
and that is a major job in itself , not just writing the odd track
but promoting and getting good labels interested.

Most venues will book a well known guy once a month or so just to keep their crowd interested
even when they know they will lose out.
it's no good just putting unknown people on week after week
you'll never move forward like that , even the really underground clubs do it
it's just relative thats all , for example chris lib and myself are big names in the acid techno world
but only there nowhere else , we never play I love techno or anything similar
I get asked why not all the time , but the truth is they've just never booked me.
but small promoters around the country take a chance on us to help promote their clubs and their residents , I can't say it's always successful but sometimes it works really well.
and thats the way it is on a larger scale too.

There is no end to this argument
you just can't wind the clock back or forward , people like jeff mills and dave clark and all that
are who they are for a reason , and that reason is based on longevity and strength of past music.
If you can keep it up for as long as they have , and come up with real amazing concepts and major changes in the music then you can have a crack at the whip too
but I'm going to admit it is WAY harder to do that now !
what with the dance music industry being completely sewn up
by a relatively small group of major promoters and artists.
your best bet is to get with the underground and work your way through that.
it does happen, I see people moving forward all the time , it just boils down to hard work.
and it's best not to gripe about other djs wages or anything
cos t.b.h. it's really none of your business
and professionally it doesn't help you at all.