Releasing a record is an expensive business. Studios need to be booked or bought, musicians paid and fed, production takes time and effort, artwork needs to be compiled, prepared, music needs to be mastered. These things can be done cheaply - but Andrew is a perfectionist and that is one of the reasons his records stand the test of time and others don't. If I were to go to the time and expense of releasing a record - be it through my own label or someone else - I would expect to be compensated appriopriately. As we have seen, Andrew is prepared to tour at length these days, and I would expect that releasing a new album would take a lot of time, work, and effort ensuring that it is released to the standard he would require, including the requisite touring.
In addition, these days, the business model for the industry is that artists do not generally make significant amounts from their releases unless they sell extraordinary amounts and the record is seen as the promotional tool for the live show - hence why even very big selling artists tend to tour their bollocks off.
http://www.avclub.com/content/node/55757/2
MJK: "We had to look at the record company and show them, "See, this is what we make when we tour. THIS is what we make on album sales. We don't need to make albums."