Would an album that's a fifth or tenth of the price will sell five or ten times as much? Probably not- for an independent artist almost certainly not. What isn't mentioned here is Dickin's suggestion that major labels make up the shortfall in income with a share of merchandise and touring receipts from successful acts- essentially cheaper albums would be a way of reducing piracy and increasing market share.

While the cost of manufacturing and distributing CDs don't apply to a digital download, the costs of recording, mixing and mastering still apply, as does the cost of marketing it.

And no-one gets 100% of the price of a download- various services distribute digitally, but will either take 10% or charge an annual service charge. That's for independent artists. Those on major labels will make a tiny fraction of the selling price.