Sony Apologizes for Raising Whitney Houston Album Prices

Sony says it did not intend to capitalize on Whitney Houston's death by raising prices for a pair of her albums on iTunes.

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Since Saturday, when the music legend passed away in Los Angeles, sales of her music skyrocketed back to the top of the charts. So did iTunes fees in Britain for "The Ultimate Collection," which rose from $7.85 to about $12.50 (a 60 percent hike), and "The Greatest Hits," which climbed 25 percent from about $12.50 to $15.67.

Negative feedback on the web prompted an apology from Sony, which returned the albums to their original prices on Sunday.

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"Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mispriced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday," said a spokesperson for the label, according to The New York Times. "When discovered, the the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offense caused."

The Times cited Sony sources as saying that the label didn't order prices to be raised, and that it was a mistake by an employee in Britain.