Big PictureKim: Workout Wonder Plus, Jessica Alba shops and Courteney Cox steals a smooch. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS + Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player. Most CommentedTV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (696)Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (483)Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (394)Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (394)Morning Mail! Is Lea Michele Ready to Walk Like an Egyptian? (286)Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)Blind Vice! Nevis Divine's Sad Past (214)Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (206)Top 10 StoriesReal Housewives' Michaele Salahi and Her New Man, Neal Schon, Sued by Her Ex for $50 MillionWhitney Houston's Hotel Death Room Already Booked? Not So Fast...Chris Brown Plays Victim, Claims Media Out to Get HimBobbi Kristina Godmother CeCe Winans Hopes to Be "Very Involved" in Her Life, Says SourceLindsay Lohan Evades Federal Taxes…Again! Working Out "Acceptable Arrangement" With IRSKhloé Kardashian Odom Talks Kim and Reggie Reports: "I Love the Bush and the Tush"Bobby Brown: Bobbi Kristina "Doing Much Better" as Whitney Houston Funeral ApproachesUp All Night First Look: Watch Alanis Morissette and Maya Rudolph Perform a Curse-Filled DuetDid Sony Try to Cash In on Whitney Houston's Death? Label Apologizes for Pricing "Mistake"Whitney Houston Death Probe: Doctors, Medical Records Sought in InvestigationFashion Police
Leighton's Valentine's Look Plus, Ashlee Simpson and Cate Blanchett. Rate the highs and lows!
MORE PHOTOS +Top Galleries
Divas Who Died Too Soon
Fashion Week Fall 2012: Runway Rundown
Be Mine: TV Valentines
Fashion Week Fall 2012: Twitpics!
MORE PHOTOS +-->
#brick-swisssh a:hover {background-color:transparent;}
#brick-glamcam a:hover {background-color:transparent;}
Our Partners 
Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player. Did Sony Try to Cash In on Whitney Houston's Death? Label Apologizes for Pricing "Mistake"Today 8:46 AM PSTby Gina Serpe 
Kevin Winter/Getty Images It's time for some damage control.
Sony has issued an apology to U.K. fans after it jacked up the price of two Whitney Houston albums by an astounding 60 percent Saturday night, in the immediate aftermath of the singer's death.
Naturally, it wasn't long before outraged fans took the label to task for what seemed to be a greedy attempt to capitalize on her passing. Or was it all just an innocent accident?
At the very least, it was a major PR blunder, though the label has since broken its silence on the perceived cash grab. Turns out...
MORE: Whitney Houston death probe: doctors, medical records sought
According to Sony, the gouging, ill-timed price hike was not intentional.
"Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mispriced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday," the label said in a statement. "When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offense caused."
Adding to what the label is dismissing as simply a coincidence (albeit an eyebrow-raising one) is the fact that the two albums struck by the pricing mishap, Ultimate Collection and Greatest Hits, were Houston's compilation discs, the two most likely to be purchased by nostalgic, mourning or just curious fans.
MORE: Bill O'Reilly: "Whitney Houston wanted to kill herself"
Ultimate Collection jumped in price a whopping 60 percent above its regular list price (from $7.85 to $12.50), while the Greatest Hits album saw a 25 percent increase in its cost (from $12.50 to $15.67).
A source at the label further sought to distance the record company from the blame of the incident, telling the New York Times that the price hike was down to an error made by one of its British employees. However, Britain's Guardian claims the decision was made after execs decided—after Whitney's death—that the wholesale price it currently listed for her Ultimate Collection album was wrong, and that the change in wholesale price resulted in the retail price increasing.
Still, while the cost no doubt smarted and irked online consumers, it certainly didn't seem to deter them: sales of Houston's albums have skyrocketed in the days since her death, as six of her titles are currently in the Billboard top 20 album charts stateside. In the U.K., just one day after the pricing gaffe, both of the two albums in question had made it into the top three of the iTunes album chart.
Tweet #WhitneyTributesPHOTOS: Whitney Houston: Great Performances
Tweet17 Commentsfiled undertop stories,Music,whitney houston,album,apologies,deathEditor's Picks
Revealed?Revealed?Adele's "Deep" Dude
Hot Photos
Fashion Police17 CommentsShow the next 1 - 0 of 17 commentsNow loading...Add Your Comment!GuestsE! Online membersRegister | Forgot password?
Play nice and have fun. And please, no HTML tags or special characters including [&*#()!@$].You've got 1000 characters left.Post Comment E! OnlineSend Us Your Feedback » NewsLatest StoriesMarc MalkinParty GirlAnswer BitchMovie ReviewsPhotosThe Big PictureFashion PoliceParty PicsMoviesVideoFashion PoliceRed CarpetAcademy AwardsGolden GlobesGrammy AwardsSAG AwardsBAFTA AwardsEmmy AwardsSundance Film Fest Cannes Film FestPremieres & MoreE! ShowsSchedulePersonalitiesPlay a PartE! TunesMessage boardsWATCH with KRISTINAWFUL TRUTHSHOP E!MORESweepstakesNewslettersMobilePodcastsRSS FeedsIndependent Programming ReportAbout UsContact UsStaffCareersFAQ
Copyright 2012 E! Entertainment Television, LLC. A Division of NBCUniversal.E! International Edition:
USA
AustraliaGermanyItalyFranceUKCanadaUSA @import url('http://s3.amazonaws.com/getsatisfaction.com/feedback/feedback.css');View the Original article
No comments:
Post a Comment