Why are HD downloads so expensive?

I agree Wolf....stealing is just wrong...the end.
As for the royalties..... that's the question.
Assuming the royalty is the same regardless of the medium, then how can HDtracks justify a price that is the same as a 180g vinyl album?
Both need to be marketed, accounted etc so lets call sales, marketing and admin etc a wash.
In the case of the LP you have to make the lacquer etc, make and press the album, print and apply a label, print and make a cover, warehouse the unit, ship the unit and give the retailer his mark up.
Or in the case of downloads...put it on a server and count the money!
So how can this be right? And why should I, as has been said a couple of times here, support these overcharging companies?

I heard that these days artists make most of their money by performing live and don't count much if at all on royalties from downloads and streaming. In fact, some artists allow you to download their music for free from their websites.

Even more reason no to support these HR download sites then isn't it? Sorry but so far no one commenting on here has convinced me that these aren't giant rip offs.

I have been told that it's actually more costly for Netflix to distribute video electronically than to send you the red envelopes. If so, then we could have the same situation here. But cutting out the retail middleman would more than make up for that.

Perhaps it's not the download sites that are setting the prices but the labels, who are trying to manage channel conflict and not kill their retail partners too quickly.

Netflix thing.....I don't dispute that but this is not a streaming service so the analogy is not quite fair.
I think you will find that HDtracks are the ones setting these prices not the labels.
My friend in the industry tells me that his company (very famous jazz label) does not set a retail price for HD downloads....just a minimum resale price to protect other distribution channels.