Making a quick buck?
The tragic and untimely death of singer Whitney Houston not only prompted shock and sadness from music fans all over the world-- her death also created a rush on sales of her albums.
But only hours after her passing, Sony UK raised the price of the singer’s most popular albums in an apparent scheme to make some quick cash. Music fans all over the U.K. were outraged.
We’re sorry
The price hike, according to Sony U.K., was made by an unnamed Sony employee in Britain and that “the company (Sony) gave no orders for prices to be raised on Ms. Houston’s music.”
Sony U.K. stated:
“[The] Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mis-priced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday. When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offense caused.”
It should be noted however; that the price pullback by Sony was likely initiated after the loud protests and angry voices from iTunes customers.
The albums
The Houston album price hikes were first seen on the iTunes store, and many believed that the new price tags ("The Ultimate Collection" up from £5 (about $7.89) to £8 (about $12.63). were from Apple, but it soon became clear that the increases originated from Sony U.K.
Mistake or mess?
Some industry watchers have pointed out that if the price increases were indeed a mistake, Sony should be sending out refunds for the overcharge. Cynics say that since this hasn’t happened, the price hike was opportunistic on Sony's part more than anything else.
Others doubt that a nameless low-level clerk at Sony U.K. could have been solely responsible for the "error."
Via CBS News
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Written by: Frank Ling on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 2:17 PM
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