Was this wrong of Sony or were they just seizing the moment? When news broke of Whitney Houston’s death, her greatest hits collection had  reportedly jumped several dollars in price. More details after the jump…
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Fans are criticizing the behemoth music consortium of capitalizing on the tragic death of Houston, by raising the price of ‘The Ultimate Collection’ from £4.99 to £7.99 in the U.K. The increase occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday but was brought back to the original value later in the day.
Sales for Amy Winehouse and Etta James jumped considerably after their deaths, and the trend continued with two of Houston’s greatest hits collections topping the sales charts on iTunes.
Sony Music, who owns the majority of Houston’s back catalog, raised the wholesale price of the album which caused Apple to adjust their pricing accordingly. An unnamed insider reports the increase was a coincidence and not a “cynical” move but rather a correction of Houston’s album’s wholesale value.
Houston died in a Los Angeles hotel on Saturday, Feb. 11 just before she was expected to perform at a party for Clive Davis. A definitive cause of death has not yet been determined.
