Nice post. I see four things affecting the price now. From classical economics arguments anyway vs. 1980-1990's era.

1] Cost of sales is lower: This includes advertising, screening, and booking. The internet is responsible. More demand.

2] Everything else is more expensive: Real estate,utilities, Domme Gear, a bunch of other stuff. Fixed costs.

3] The client base (Americans) is less affluent in real dollars, with a few exceptions. Less Demand.

4] The industry is largely unregulated and competitive, which lowers prices, especially with almost unlimited choice (internet). Look at heavily regulated industries like health care (Americans) for the other extreme. Elasticity.