Sony Apologizes for Whitney Houston Album Price Spike on UK iTunes

Sometimes the face of greed shows itself in the wake of tragedy. I believe Sony had every intention of cashing in on Whitney Houston's death. Now, they are simply trying to save face after garnering negative attention.

Two of Whitney's albums, The Ultimate Collection and The Greatest Hits, saw an unusual spike in price on U.K. iTunes over the weekend. Ultimate saw an increase of 60%, while Hits climbed by 25%.

Since then, Sony has released a statement, saying:

“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.”

They won't live this down. From Reuters:

The jump in cost occurred early on Sunday on the British version of iTunes, and the hikes were considerable -- the Houston compilation "The Ultimate Collection" soared 60 percent, from $7.85 to approximately $12.50, while another collection, "The Greatest Hits," jumped 25 percent, from approximately $12.50 to $15.67.

The hike was reversed later on Sunday, but not before some people questioned whether Sony was attempting to financially exploit Houston's demise.

Sony executives who chose to remain anonymous told the Times that the price hike was due to an error by a British Sony employee, and was not authorized by the company.

Photo from The Boom Box