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There's still several other fees a label has to deal with, regardless of whether it is a transfer from a pristine LP.
Some examples:
According to two posts by MV:
Economics 101:
Project costs $10,000 to produce. You sell cd at an average of $7 per unit. For a release like this, one that is months after the fact, you might be lucky to move 1000 to 2000 units. If you move 2000, you make $14,000 gross. Of course, when you factor in royalties you might walk away with $2,500 - $3,000 profit. Now, this is not accounting for the 1000 cds you will most likely receive as returns a year later from vendors like Tower, Virgin, etc. . . So, you have actually lost money on the project.
Perhaps some day another company will release it as a limited edition cd if Mr Despalt's star continues to rise. Hell, in a few years I might even do that! I'm a fan of his work, but to release the cd now is hardly worth it to appease a few hundred people.
Now, if I can get a slew of you to want a release of this, I might second think the project. This is similiar to Blade:Trinity. We were considering doing it, but there wasn't enough interest, so we passed.
and
I can't speak for others, but when you get right down to it $20 is just about as low as we can go.
Between artist royalties, mechanical royalties, afm fees, sag fees (for choir), transfer costs, mastering costs, producing costs as well as manufacturing costs a company's out of pocket fees go well into the 10's of thousands on some projects. Other projects, are not as high, but those ones usually are not as much in demand.
We try to give customers a break from time to time (sale prices on older titles or sale prices on new ones -- like now: Buy Dragonslayer and get Eraser for $14.98).
Plus, something to also keep in mind is when we sell these cds to other stores we sell them at a wholesale rate, so our profit diminishes anywhere from $5 to $10. Only Varese has the cajones to sell their wares at full retail price to the wholesale marketplace. LOL
Believe me, if we could sell these cds cheaper and still make a good profit we would.
And that's all I gotta say about that.
MV
Also, Doug over at Intrada said this:
The following are just some of the costs to us that have increased. I am not referring to the musician fees because thankfully the historic rates have made these albums actually possible now. And I am not counting postage fees as those we factor into our retail shipping rates. Anyway, onwards.
Here's what costs have increased since our first $19.99 CD went out our door: The advances to acquire the license. The royalty rates to the studio. The mechanical licensing fees. (Yes, every time we add another track to an album, not only do we pay a higher rate, but we pay that rate so many more times over, too.) The costs of transferring the original elements. The costs of mixing, editing and mastering the music. The costs of licensing the artwork and stills for the packaging. The costs of manufacturing a disc. The costs of printing a booklet. And - of course - the labor costs at all levels of production and manufacturing and filling of orders and all that overhead stuff. And my point here?
Some 25 years later, we still retail these discs for $19.99
Just something to ponder. Don't fear a price increase or some other yucky development at this time. But maybe, just maybe, be kind of happy that you are seeing these albums come out against such challenging odds. It gets pretty crazy sometimes.
--Doug
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A 3$ price hike after over 25 years isn't something to get worked up about.
In fact, a $3 price hike after over 25 years is friggin' miraculous! And as to the argument of "this album is only 25 minutes" so why am I paying full price for it, by that rationale we should actually charge $23 for 30-minute CDs and $46 for 60-minute CDs. I daresay I prefer Intrada's way of doing it to the alternative. 
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It may be justified from the business side, but it will probably cause a drop in sales.
CD scores are pretty darn niche as it is, but it could get even smaller as these prices go up.
I doubt Intrada will notice any decrease in sales. Like you said, this is a niche market. That means it already has a target audience. I think that audience's threshold is far higher than its complaining might lead us to believe. For example, I'm not nuts about paying an additional $3 for anything, but I can completely justify why it's necessary.
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A 3$ price hike after over 25 years isn't something to get worked up about.
In fact, a $3 price hike after over 25 years is friggin' miraculous! And as to the argument of "this album is only 25 minutes," by that rationale we should actually charge $23 for 30-minute CDs and $46 for 60-minute CDs. I daresay I prefer Intrada's way of doing it to the alternative.
Well because of the stupid Brexit we had price hike of ~6$ in one year for no good reason. At least I'm sure Intrada have a good reason for that.
Compared to 10,000$ for a project, I wonder what would the cost of the right owners to just let collectors download the raw master tape and let the user edit it? I know it won't happen but just saying!
No rights holder in their right mind would allow that kind of control for the end user, not to mention orchestra fees, etc. That said, we all know the model is shifting quickly to a format that is non-physical. That will definitely save the consumer on shipping, unless some other fee is imposed for hi-rez ("storage fee"), which I could see happening. As long as they exist, CDs will be how I purchase my music, but I can see the benefits of soft format. (Shhh.)
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"Compared to 10,000$ for a project, I wonder what would the cost of the right owners to just let collectors download the raw master tape and let the user edit it? I know it won't happen but just saying!"
I know you said that in jest, but copyright owners have an invested interest in how their work is presented to the public. It's important for creative and legal reasons. Just opening the vaults for a fee and have at it would pretty much relinquish any control they have over their work.
Further more it's nonsensical. How exactly does one download raw master tapes?
But let's pretend for a second you can download music from raw master tapes, right after you alter the laws of space and time (which according to one member, could happen!), what do you get?
It's easy to forget the effort labels put into making the music sound the way it does. This oftens means many forms of damanage repair, from annomolies, wow, using multiple sources to try and get the best possible, baking tapes, hiring a professional to painstakingly bring it to life, identify and assemble cues, unique instances where special thigns are done to make the music sound better (as I recall, "Jaws" was such an instance, by Intrada).
Download raw master tapes? Huh?
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Posted: |
Nov 30, 2016 - 1:45 PM
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By: |
Solium
(Member)
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"Compared to 10,000$ for a project, I wonder what would the cost of the right owners to just let collectors download the raw master tape and let the user edit it? I know it won't happen but just saying!"
I know you said that in jest, but copyright owners have an invested interest in how their work is presented to the public. It's important for creative and legal reasons. Just opening the vaults for a fee and have at it would pretty much relinquish any control they have over their work.
Further more it's nonsensical. How exactly does one download raw master tapes?
But let's pretend for a second you can download music from raw master tapes, right after you alter the laws of space and time (which according to one member, could happen!), what do you get?
It's easy to forget the effort labels put into making the music sound the way it does. This oftens means many forms of damanage repair, from annomolies, wow, using multiple sources to try and get the best possible, baking tapes, hiring a professional to painstakingly bring it to life, identify and assemble cues, unique instances where special thigns are done to make the music sound better (as I recall, "Jaws" was such an instance, by Intrada).
Download raw master tapes? Huh?
Also don't the labels often spend their own time and money, sometimes years finding these tapes? There's not enough financial incentive for the studios to do that on their own.
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Exactly, thanks for bringing that up.
And let us again pretend this was possible -- will composers get paid for this? Will the AFM even play ball on such a thing? Does this magical system obliterate country restrictions that affect downloads today? Who foots the bill for this massive under taking?
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I've been trying to have this discussion for quite some time. Good to know I'm not the only one who looks into this a little deeper, though some might have wanted to suggest this singularity in thinking when the subject came up in the past.
I'll just say this, as to not repeat myself: It'll be interesting to see if this helps things in the end. In order for companies like Intrada to turn a healthier profit - as no doubt they're hoping to do by increasing prices, and something I do understand some of the reasoning behind - this niche market is going to have to actually buy it all at said pricing. Time will tell if the market will bear it and the majority of customers are on board. I know from speaking to several other collectors that they've begun to turn an eye on purchasing some really solid titles all because pricing has risen, especially for international customers where conversion and shipping can be brutal. That being said, I reiterate: I do in fact understand all the costs involved. I know these aren't cheap to produce. But it cuts both ways too. If these labels are to have a reason to exist, the production side of things is merely one spoke in the wheel. Consumer affordability and justification is also helping things turn. May it all work out for the sake of the best music on the planet.
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It's actually a $2 price hike. From $19.99 to $21.99.
"I was told there would be no math."
Shows you how much I care about the price hike - I actually didn't even take the time to see if it was $2 or $3. And no, I don't have tons of money. I just either buy or don't buy. No need to over-intellectualize it. I do way too much over-thinking as it is. 
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