system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why is the cost of movies/music for personal use still so high when there is way less distro overhead?

This crosses my mind so often, how come we are paying $10-$15 for an album, and the same for a SD/HD movie through iTunes or VUDU or whatever? Shouldn't there be a discount for not providing one with physical media? not having to truck them to stores, make displays and so on? Extra Credit: Is this proving that the artistry is what we are actually paying for and not the physical objects?
gpt
Basically it costs $10-15 to buy an album because people are spending $10-15 to buy one.  The customer perceives value at that price.  

Keep in mind that 30 years ago we paid $10-15 for an album on record or cassette.  The innovations in cost savings and distribution you mention are partially consumed by inflation.