"At what point do you say 'We're going to sell them for $9.99 and [artists are] not going to be able to make a living off their music, or they're going to have to tour 11 and a half months a year?'
LOL, welcome to the real world, fucker, where we all work that much a year.
Working an 8 hour day and then going home versus being on the road for 11 months are vastly different things. That being said, the having to tour 11 1/2 months out of the year quote might be a bit of an exaggeration.
Also, I don't think $9.99 is a ridiculously low amount for an album. I usually pay more, but the fact is most people won't.