When the WSJ article came out yesterday, it was hard to comment because... it was behind a paywall.
Yes, the Wall Street Journal is clearly shooting itself in the foot by keeping the price for its content higher than people are willing to pay.
It's been the case for some time that some ebooks are more expensive than their paper counterparts. The inverse is also true. E.g. Steve Jobs bio, $15 ebook and $17.50 hardcover.
The Help, $10 ebook and $14.50 hardcover.
The Litigators (Grisham's new book) $13 ebook, $15 hardcover.
The Drop, $13 vs $16.50.
11/22/63 (Stephen King), $15 vs $17.50.
All are best-sellers. All are agency priced. All are cheaper as ebooks than in hardcover.
So rather than perform a sampled or detailed analysis, or compare sales growth pre- and post-agency pricing, or compare European and American paper book sales (Europe has price controls, US does not), the author just doles out the usual anecdotal evidence.
Someone wake me when they've got some actual numbers, kthx...