The music cartel and the movie cartel have a lot of similarities: roughly the same age, basically sophisticated delivery systems for art that others create, etc. However, there seems to be willingness on the part of the movie industry to find the perfect price point.
Why doesn't the music industry try this tactic? Instead, they want to 'raise' the price of one song at iTunes. Why not sell new CDs (of older artists) for 3 dollars instead?
WSJ.com - Studios Boost Efforts to Fight Piracy of Videos
As part of a broad strategy to combat video piracy in two major overseas markets, Warner Bros. Entertainment and NBC Universal are expanding their efforts to sell cheap DVDs in Russia and China.
In November, an initial batch of about 15 Universal movies will be introduced by retailers in China, joining a crop of some 200 Warner Bros. DVDs already on sale there. Since early this year, the Time Warner Inc. unit has been selling legitimate videos in China at prices ranging from $2.65 to $3.38 each, prices intended to compete with illegal DVDs, which sell for as little as $1 on the street. ...Among the titles expected to be released in the coming months are Universal's “Ray,” “The Interpreter,” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and Warner Bros.' “Batman Begins,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”
There could be much more to come. With a large annual movie slate and vast collection of old titles, Warner Bros. has one of the biggest video libraries in Hollywood. Universal, which distributes its own movies and DVDs as well as those of the live-action studio DreamWorks SKG, also has many more resources to tap.
