@ $99.99, the cost of posting that material free online is probably pretty close to zero. Every download does not represent lost revenue. Only those downloads that take the place of purchases do. How many people torrenting a movie would be willing to pay $99.99 for the BluRay? Not many. Those downloads become a lot more relevant as the cost of legally consuming content drops.
The thing that I've been continually amazed by is the industry's fascination on eliminating or limiting people viewing their content without paying. This is a meaningless metric and one that puts them at odds with their customers. If they had, instead, focused on increasing the average amount that each person spends on content, they'd not only make more money, but they'd be in the business of giving customers what they want and they'd truly be taking advantage of the zero marginal cost of their product. As long as I'm spending as much as I'm willing to spend on entertainment, the industry should want me watching everything they produce. The per-view or per-piece-of-content profit is only meaningful in a world where each copy they sell costs them money. When me viewing a piece of content costs them nothing, they should only be concerned that I'm paying for content, not that I'm paying for each piece of content.
The thing that I've been continually amazed by is the industry's fascination on eliminating or limiting people viewing their content without paying. This is a meaningless metric and one that puts them at odds with their customers. If they had, instead, focused on increasing the average amount that each person spends on content, they'd not only make more money, but they'd be in the business of giving customers what they want and they'd truly be taking advantage of the zero marginal cost of their product. As long as I'm spending as much as I'm willing to spend on entertainment, the industry should want me watching everything they produce. The per-view or per-piece-of-content profit is only meaningful in a world where each copy they sell costs them money. When me viewing a piece of content costs them nothing, they should only be concerned that I'm paying for content, not that I'm paying for each piece of content.