Sony hikes 2 Whitney Houston album prices on iTunes, apologizes

The world cried when six time Grammy award winner, Whitney Houston died, last week and just hours after her death, her fans were treated to a rude shock. According to the reports, just hours after the star's death on Saturday, Sony Music Entertainment, the record label for which she recorded, under its subsidiary, Arista Records went on to hike the prices of two of Houston's albums on U.K iTunes. Reportedly, the price of the Houston compilation, "The Ultimate Collection" was hiked from $7.85 to approximately $12.50, while the price of another collection, "The Greatest Hits" was hiked from $12.50 to $15.67, thereby translating to a noticeable jump in prices, enraging scores of her fans, in the process.

We will always love you! (Image credit: Whitney Houston official site)

Obviously, the manner in which the events began unfolding, Sony was earning itself a lot of negative popularity, as the record label was questioned by some, as "attempting to financially exploit Houston's demise." Oblivious to the error at first, Sony Music Entertainment took the prices back to their old form, soon after; but, not before clarifying that the price hike was a 'mistake' on the part of a British Sony employee and the hike was not authorized by the company.

The company also issued an apology for the unintended price hike. The apology stated, "Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mispriced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday. When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offense caused." According to reports, Houston's signature track, "I will always love you" is a chart topper, this week; being a clear indicator of how Houston's immortalized by her music.

The 48-year old music icon was found dead on February 11, 2012, and though the immediate cause of her death is unknown, reports state that she was found submerged in the bathtub of her Beverly Hilton hotel suite by a personal staff member.

News Sources