Richard:

>How much does it cost to remaster a recording and reissue it as a CD,
>a SACD or whatever?

Similar question and answer about the cost of pharmaceutical drugs.
Relatively cheap to manufacture, but costing millions to research and
develop.  And, likewise, sometimes new technologies (like new drugs) are
short-lived, being supplanted by new and better technologies (or drugs),
as you have noticed, and this gives the companies limited time to recoup
their investment.

Michael Cooper