[BC] Absurd markups!

[Cowboy]

On Thursday 25 October 2007 01:09 am, WFIFeng at aol.com wrote:
>  In a message dated 10/24/2007 9:28:27 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
>  curt at spam-o-matic.net writes:
>  
>  >  How many are willing, even in the wasteful USA, to pay 18x the
>  >   value for anything ?
>  >   2x probably. 5x questionable, but 9-18x ??
>  
>  Well, if you buy USB cables at Retail, you're paying approximately a 4,000% 
>  markup! No, that is *not* a typo!

 It's not about markup. It's about value.

 The market seems to have decided that a song is worth about $1.
 Considering the "cost" today of network distribution, the "cost"
 of a song once recorded and ready for distribution is near zero, but
 that has little to do with the value.
 Like software, the real cost is in the artist's time, production equipment,
 etc. Copy #1 might cost tens of thousands, ( or more ) but
 copy #2,000,000 is considerably less.
 Processed correctly, with dynamic range, etc. the cost is no more, but
 for some of us at least, the perceived value might be considerably more.

 By the same token, the cost of air time, once the station is built and
 on the air, is equal to the lowest cost spot, which *is* zero in the case
 of unsold inventory, so the markup on drivetime can be called "absurd." 

 If one can download MP3 crap for $1, ( or less ) then why is linear
 crushed crap worth 9-18x as much ?

 Not saying it's right, but if many perceive that illegally downloading
 a copy "free" is neither unethical, nor immoral, now how do you
 justify what amounts to $18 per song ? 

-- 
Cowboy