Sony raised price of Whitney Houston album after news of her death

Sony Music is facing intense criticism today after they were found to have raised the price of Whitney's Houston's greatest hits album right after the singer passed away.

Houston passed away on Saturday at the age of 48.

The record label raised the wholesale price of the album, called "The Ultimate Collection," at 7am EST on Sunday morning, just hours after her death, prompting iTunes to automatically lift the retail price from �4.99 to �7.99.

According to insiders speaking to the Guardian, the change came directly after the label "reviewed Houston's iTunes catalogue after the singer was pronounced dead." The same insider says the move was not intended to "cash in" on the singer's death but was rather a fix that should have been made earlier had they been reviewing prices more often.

iTunes had returned the price to normal by late Sunday.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Feb 2012 14:21

Kannz

Quote:insider says the move was not intended to "cash in"
hehe sure it wasn't..

13.2.2012 14:36 #1

elbald90

greedy scum , im so glad i dont give them my money

13.2.2012 14:49 #2

nbfreak2

They always cash in on their death,Look how they did Michel J....Blood suckers!

13.2.2012 14:50 #3

cpspoo

Stay classy, Sony.

13.2.2012 16:06 #4

dave817

I..eye I..eah..I..will never buy that album...eee...oooo...eee...ooo...who...ooo...

13.2.2012 16:56 #5

aldan

if that wasnt intended to cash in on her death i would very much like to hear sonys explanation.should be a good one.(dripping sarcasm)

13.2.2012 17:03 #6

hearme0

Ya know..........It would have been more noble of these bastards to have had the balls to at least come clean and say "Yeah......she's dead and now we're gonna capitalize" rather than lie through their frakking teeth and try and take us all for complete mindless morons that can't see or detect the truth or read between the lines by saying "it was an error that should have been corrected." Now......if Sony EVER EVER does this again then we will all definitely know they're pigs and God help them because people will protest them hardcore.

If they had just fessed up..........they could have done this again and again......not that doing this is noble or right in any way.

13.2.2012 17:13 #7

aldan

Originally posted by hearme0: Ya know..........It would have been more noble of these bastards to have had the balls to at least come clean and say "Yeah......she's dead and now we're gonna capitalize" rather than lie through their frakking teeth and try and take us all for complete mindless morons that can't see or detect the truth or read between the lines by saying "it was an error that should have been corrected." Now......if Sony EVER EVER does this again then we will all definitely know they're pigs and God help them because people will protest them hardcore.

If they had just fessed up..........they could have done this again and again......not that doing this is noble or right in any way. exactly.gutless wonders.

13.2.2012 17:27 #8

WierdName

Quote:The record label raised the wholesale price of the album, called "The Ultimate Collection," at 7am EST on Sunday morning, just hours after her death, prompting iTunes to automatically lift the retail price from �4.99 to �7.99. Uh, what? I could understand online stores monitoring each others prices but am I the only one that things it's a bit weird it jumps �3 "automatically"? I would think someone at least briefly reviewed and gave that the OK. Granted they dropped the price back down but was that because they caught the jump or realized it would be bad PR? Not that Sony is any bit innocent, but the iTunes bit seems a little sketchy...

Doesnt expecting the unexpected make the unexpected expected and therefore mean youre expecting the expected which was the unexpected until you expected it?
"Opinions are immunities to being told were wrong." - Relient K

13.2.2012 18:14 #9

Jay2131 (unverified)

I have no problem with Sony jacking up the album price upon her death, that's just smart business as everyone knows people for whatever reason do buy albums whenever an artist dies in great numbers; increase demand = increased price.....but....why come up with some ridiculous explanation for the price increase that is a blatant lie. Sure some people might be ticked that a company is cashing in on an artist's death, but I bet most would see it as business is business. This farce of an explanation is much more damaging to the company then a legit price bump because of her death & increase in demand explanation ever would be.

13.2.2012 18:19 #10

Hopium

i don't blame them, i worked at a music shop when johnny cash died and we sold everything we had by him.

13.2.2012 18:20 #11

wiseguy0

Originally posted by Jay2131: I have no problem with Sony jacking up the album price upon her death, that's just smart business as everyone knows people for whatever reason do buy albums whenever an artist dies in great numbers; increase demand = increased price.....but....why come up with some ridiculous explanation for the price increase that is a blatant lie. Sure some people might be ticked that a company is cashing in on an artist's death, but I bet most would see it as business is business. This farce of an explanation is much more damaging to the company then a legit price bump because of her death & increase in demand explanation ever would be. Right. Now tell Sony that downloading everything they sell from pirates is just a smart business move for me.

13.2.2012 19:00 #12

llongtheD

Just remember everyone, it's all about the artists. That's why they're pushing so hard to get SOPA passed is to protect the artists. At least that was one of their excuses for that worthless censorship bill.

13.2.2012 19:45 #13

DVDBack23

Originally posted by WierdName: Uh, what? I could understand online stores monitoring each others prices but am I the only one that things it's a bit weird it jumps �3 "automatically"? I would think someone at least briefly reviewed and gave that the OK. Granted they dropped the price back down but was that because they caught the jump or realized it would be bad PR? Not that Sony is any bit innocent, but the iTunes bit seems a little sketchy... ITunes and other online sellers have to have those systems in place. If the wholesale price jumps $3 and they are still selling at the same price, they will likely take a loss, certainly not something they would want to do.

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13.2.2012 19:52 #14

Jeffrey_P

Originally posted by Jay2131: I have no problem with Sony jacking up the album price upon her death, that's just smart business as everyone knows people for whatever reason do buy albums whenever an artist dies in great numbers; increase demand = increased price.....but....why come up with some ridiculous explanation for the price increase that is a blatant lie. Sure some people might be ticked that a company is cashing in on an artist's death, but I bet most would see it as business is business. This farce of an explanation is much more damaging to the company then a legit price bump because of her death & increase in demand explanation ever would be. Oh sure unverified user Mr. economics major.
It's in very bad taste to do what Sony did. Capitalizing on anybodies death let alone a famous artists death just shows what it is all about.. The money. Just like SOPA, PIPA and ACTA. It's not really about piracy. More like running world economics and greed. That's what we get for allowing banks and big business to run things.

Some people...

Jeff

Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

13.2.2012 20:42 #15

jrp696

Originally posted by Jay2131: I have no problem with Sony jacking up the album price upon her death, that's just smart business as everyone knows people for whatever reason do buy albums whenever an artist dies in great numbers; increase demand = increased price.....but....why come up with some ridiculous explanation for the price increase that is a blatant lie. Sure some people might be ticked that a company is cashing in on an artist's death, but I bet most would see it as business is business. This farce of an explanation is much more damaging to the company then a legit price bump because of her death & increase in demand explanation ever would be. Its called business ethics and being socially responsible. Two very important issues (among many) businesses have to consider. Capitalizing on death isn't very ethical. Wait its sony tho...yeahh they dont give a crap.

13.2.2012 21:47 #16

brockie

RIP I'm sure they are not that stupid to do this it would be so obvious so the source is probably telling the truth.

13.2.2012 22:33 #17

bobiroc

Maybe Sony will use the extra profits they are getting by capitalizing over Whitney's death to strengthen their security so they will not get hacked again.

AMD Phenom II 965 @ 3.67Ghz, 8GB DDR3, ATI Radeon 5770HD, 300GB 10,000RPM Raptor, 2TB Additional HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate.

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13.2.2012 22:49 #18

WierdName

Originally posted by DVDBack23: Originally posted by WierdName: Uh, what? I could understand online stores monitoring each others prices but am I the only one that things it's a bit weird it jumps �3 "automatically"? I would think someone at least briefly reviewed and gave that the OK. Granted they dropped the price back down but was that because they caught the jump or realized it would be bad PR? Not that Sony is any bit innocent, but the iTunes bit seems a little sketchy... ITunes and other online sellers have to have those systems in place. If the wholesale price jumps $3 and they are still selling at the same price, they will likely take a loss, certainly not something they would want to do.
If the expense to Apple increases, I.E. the royalties, I could understand. But from the sound of it, that was a competitor's sale price increase not from royalties. So not increasing would just make them the cheap, more attractive seller. But then again if Sony owned the label for Whitney Houston, I wouldn't really know, then I suppose Sony would probably have increased the royalties on sales prompting iTunes and other sells to increase their sale price. But then again I haven't seen news of other stores increasing their prices. It just seems sketchy to me. Who knows though, it very well could have just been an unchecked, automated increase that was caught and reverted. I suppose I'll just give them the benefit of the doubt.

13.2.2012 22:58 #19

xboxdvl2

lucky for us we got the body guard sound track and movie like 6years ago.

R.I.P. mr 1990 ford falcon.got myself a 1993 toyota corolla seems to run good.computers still going good.

13.2.2012 23:01 #20

DVDBack23

Originally posted by WierdName: Originally posted by DVDBack23: Originally posted by WierdName: Uh, what? I could understand online stores monitoring each others prices but am I the only one that things it's a bit weird it jumps �3 "automatically"? I would think someone at least briefly reviewed and gave that the OK. Granted they dropped the price back down but was that because they caught the jump or realized it would be bad PR? Not that Sony is any bit innocent, but the iTunes bit seems a little sketchy... ITunes and other online sellers have to have those systems in place. If the wholesale price jumps $3 and they are still selling at the same price, they will likely take a loss, certainly not something they would want to do.
If the expense to Apple increases, I.E. the royalties, I could understand. But from the sound of it, that was a competitor's sale price increase not from royalties. So not increasing would just make them the cheap, more attractive seller. But then again if Sony owned the label for Whitney Houston, I wouldn't really know, then I suppose Sony would probably have increased the royalties on sales prompting iTunes and other sells to increase their sale price. But then again I haven't seen news of other stores increasing their prices. It just seems sketchy to me. Who knows though, it very well could have just been an unchecked, automated increase that was caught and reverted. I suppose I'll just give them the benefit of the doubt. Not sure where the confusion is. Sony Music raised the wholesale price to everyone who distributes the album, therefore forcing them to pump the price, as well.

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13.2.2012 23:04 #21

bobiroc

You know it just dawned on me. I wonder if Sony knows that it is greedy tactics that turn people to pirate music and other media. Whether you liked Whitney or not she actually was talented and Sony should be offering massive discounts to honor her music. Instead they raise prices to try and make more money when offering a bit of a discount actually may drive sales more instead of pissing people off and turning them away from buying anything.

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13.2.2012 23:10 #22

Semperfipal

Sony smells blood, and the bastards will try at all costs to cash in on it. Haven't bought a Sony product for years, and never will.

13.2.2012 23:37 #23

WierdName

Originally posted by DVDBack23: Not sure where the confusion is. Sony Music raised the wholesale price to everyone who distributes the album, therefore forcing them to pump the price, as well. The confusion was that I interpreted "Sony Music" as a store not a recording company. So I was thinking Sony's store increased its price rather than the company who owned it.

13.2.2012 23:43 #24

joepet200

Originally posted by wiseguy0: Originally posted by Jay2131: I have no problem with Sony jacking up the album price upon her death, that's just smart business as everyone knows people for whatever reason do buy albums whenever an artist dies in great numbers; increase demand = increased price.....but....why come up with some ridiculous explanation for the price increase that is a blatant lie. Sure some people might be ticked that a company is cashing in on an artist's death, but I bet most would see it as business is business. This farce of an explanation is much more damaging to the company then a legit price bump because of her death & increase in demand explanation ever would be. Right. Now tell Sony that downloading everything they sell from pirates is just a smart business move for me. It's very expensive to remain an "honest" consumer. Sony is just reminding us honest consumers that it will cost us MORE to remain honest. The choice is still ours. I will not be paying more for Sony products.

14.2.2012 11:30 #25

LordRuss

You know, they stopped 'making' kids take ethics back when I started college back in the early 80s. I'll be honest, I was dreading having to take it & got a 'warm fuzzy' when the word came down that it was no longer mandatory. What a mistake.

Now look at the shape of what 'we' have become. Everyone. This isn't a religious thing either. Morals are based on emotion & that is in turn based on a adjective know as character.

I'm talking about an upper level college course on the systematic means of making a right/wrong decision through the advanced systematic use of common sense. Literally, a virtual masters class on how to use common sense. And if you didn't have any, it gave you the flow chart to at least start somewhere.

The horror of these classes back in the day was that if you didn't pass it (despite your GPA) you didn't get your degree. That's the weight it carried. That's how much your degree meant too. Now, just like being a father, just about any butt reaming asshole can be one (college grad).

Tact, couth, decorum; it isn't just Sony lacking in these social graces here. I expect shock jocks & idiots like the Jackass crowd, South Park, some sit coms & now my animation studio, to do this kind of thing. But they've made a career of it & it's expected material. These fortune 500 companies are not.

Like their supposed products, they are held to a higher standard, yet they pay off lawyers, influence politicians & laws, build shoddy products, treat their customers poorly, etc...

I really am amazed at how these places stay in business.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

14.2.2012 11:43 #26

SmaryJerry (unverified)

Not only did they they get advertising off of her death, they also got tons of free advertising over the price raise beacuse people think it's some kind of crime to do anything related to death. Good move.

14.2.2012 14:10 #27

aldan

Originally posted by SmaryJerry: Not only did they they get advertising off of her death, they also got tons of free advertising over the price raise beacuse people think it's some kind of crime to do anything related to death. Good move. you might want to consider a new user name.the one youve got is a bit of an oxymoron.not only was this not a smart move,it was just the opposite.but,looking at russels post,i suppose there is not much point arguing the point.it is,however,a sad commentary on our society if people regard this kind of behaviour as ok.

15.2.2012 02:49 #28

LordRuss

Originally posted by aldan: Originally posted by SmaryJerry: Not only did they they get advertising off of her death, they also got tons of free advertising over the price raise beacuse people think it's some kind of crime to do anything related to death. Good move. you might want to consider a new user name.the one youve got is a bit of an oxymoron.not only was this not a smart move,it was just the opposite.but,looking at russels post,i suppose there is not much point arguing the point.it is,however,a sad commentary on our society if people regard this kind of behaviour as ok. Part of me winced when I read your comments... I probably had it coming too, despite if you meant anything by it or not. What I mean is, I had a "if the shoe fit's" moment.

If I have another 15 years, all I can say is I gave it my best shot & tried to lead by example and in by doing so, that example wasn't always the best. But I can damn sure say I knew the difference between right/wrong & didn't kick a man after he was down or turn him away because he was hungry. No matter who he was.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

15.2.2012 11:48 #29

aldan

Originally posted by LordRuss: Originally posted by aldan: Originally posted by SmaryJerry: Not only did they they get advertising off of her death, they also got tons of free advertising over the price raise beacuse people think it's some kind of crime to do anything related to death. Good move. you might want to consider a new user name.the one youve got is a bit of an oxymoron.not only was this not a smart move,it was just the opposite.but,looking at russels post,i suppose there is not much point arguing the point.it is,however,a sad commentary on our society if people regard this kind of behaviour as ok. Part of me winced when I read your comments... I probably had it coming too, despite if you meant anything by it or not. What I mean is, I had a "if the shoe fit's" moment.

If I have another 15 years, all I can say is I gave it my best shot & tried to lead by example and in by doing so, that example wasn't always the best. But I can damn sure say I knew the difference between right/wrong & didn't kick a man after he was down or turn him away because he was hungry. No matter who he was. haha,no criticism of you in that post russ.i agree with you.except i dont really believe that ethics can be taught.

15.2.2012 12:56 #30

Interestx

The now say they are sorry.

Yeah right.

Sorry they got caught out doing this.

15.2.2012 13:17 #31

LordRuss

Originally posted by aldan: haha,no criticism of you in that post russ.i agree with you.except i dont really believe that ethics can be taught. You're right... it can't. But the information can at least be put out there & the excuse of "you didn't tell me" is no longer viable. However, my making this statement contradicts myself in that I have professed that we need to bludgeon everyone over the age of 4 who uses that very excuse as a justification for right/wrong.

These are supposed to be the most educated individuals running these corporations & our countries, yet everyone allows for the belligerent stunts they pull? Alcohol & drugs can answer for only so much & background checks are supposed to keep nut jobs like me out of those kind of offices; so what's their excuse now? Whatever it is I propose that is ain't good enough & we keep the knight sticks at the ready.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

15.2.2012 13:25 #32

voyager

Sony knows that Megaupload is dead and that's why the rise the price of the WH music.
They forget P2P.

24.2.2012 15:49 #33

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