i do not understand why everyone is bitching about the prices... nothing is free, so stop complaining. this is a gift from SW to even have the ability to purchase these recordings... DG put a lot of effort into recording and mastering these recordings... because the expectation is that only a certain amount will even be purchased, the margins are relatively lower and the costs incurred will therefore be spread out over a lower number of sales, which causes revenue deficiencies in relation to a live download offering for STP, which could be marketed for $10 and sell a million copies... SDR is a very small label... their artists are not generating a lot of revenue, which makes it hard to cover all of their overhead... especially when SWB is touring for the 2nd time in 6 months....
although i would recommend purchasing the flac version ($18)... $15 (mp3) is a small price to pay to have a digitally mastered soundboard recording of the performance from a show that you attended of your favorite artist.
if you look at other bands that offer the same the same type of live material... the prices are relatively comparable.... as far as the comparison between the cost of the live material and the cost of an official release... i would say that the increased amount of material being offered contributes to the variance in price.
no offense to the people who have an alternative perspective on the issue... much like you have voiced your views... i'm just simply voicing mine.
i've always supported SW in any project that he has ever undertaken.... and I will continue to support him thru the Live Downloads venture as well.
over the years, i have spent thousands of dollars on the acquisition of my live media collection... looking back, i have no regrets... you'll all see the intrinsic value as i begin to share with the community...
taking these comments into consideration may change your perspective on the pricing scale... especially for those people who were unfortunately not able to see SW live... $15 is a marginal cost in comparison to the transportation and admission costs that many of us have incurred during the 2 legs of the HIG tour to see the SWB.