[UFO Chicago] TRON Special Edition 20th Anniversary DVD

[Peter A. Peterson II]

Quoting Larry Garfield:
> Precisely.  The studio made its investment back several times over
> already.  The cost of producing the DVD, plus shipping, packaging, and
> so on totals maybe $4.  25% profit margin brings the retail price up to
> $5.  That's $15 of extortion.  I somehow doubt that Bruce Boxlightner
> (one of the original "artists") sees a dime of that.  (And my apologies
> to TRON and Babylon 5 fans alike if I misspelled his name.)

Now, just set the YouCanTakeAwayMyLifeButYouCanNeverTakeAway...
MYFREEDOM (!!!) argument for one N.Y. Minute(tm), and ponder with me
what an economist would say about this line of argument? Certainly the
$20 price is a huge markup, but that money is spent in other ways,
such as gala luncheons and personal yachts. 

But seriously, if DVDs were $5 and movie tickets were $3, would the
entertainment industry be able to do the things that it can do with
the revenue it has? In some ways, that question is saying, "Would the
entertainment industry be able to churn out as much festering bilge as
they are now?" BUt it's also saying, "Would they be able to invest in
such projects as X and Y that we all enjoyed so much?"

And what is the appropriate plan? Should we pay $15 for a movie ticket
(until the studio has recouped, at which point admission is fixed as
per the cost of rental at that movie theatre) and a haypenny
for a movie rental (still brutal extortion) and $5 for a DVD? And a
nickel per bag of popcorn and coffee at diners should be practically
free? If DVDs only cost $5, everyone would have every DVD they ever
wanted, which would mean that we'd all have massive video libraries,
and so in a way the somewhat prohibitave cost creates a balance.

I'm rambling. But my point is, the actual cost to produce is not the
only consideration in fixing a price for a product, all other points
beside.

You CAN argue on the freedom grounds though, and I have no recourse
but to say "I'm not that much of a zealot," at which point you can
say, "but you should be." And then I'll shrug and wonder about it.

pedro