Whitney Houston Album Prices 'Mistakenly' Hiked, Says Record Label Sony In Apology

Sony has apologised for increasing the price of two Whitney Houston albums on Apple's iTunes store just hours after the singer's death on Saturday.

The wholesale price of Whitney's albums The Ultimate Collection and Whitney: The Greatest Hits went up by about £3 each, shortly after her body was discovered in a bath at a hotel in Beverly Hills.

In a statement to Billboard.biz, Sony Music said: "Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mispriced on the UK iTunes store on Sunday. When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologise for any offence caused."

Fans of the singer who noticed the error took to Twitter to lambast Sony for what appeared to them as cashing in on Houston's death. And Wendy Day, the co-founder of a not-for-profit organisation that aims to keep artists from being unfairly exploited, wrote on Twitter:

Meanwhile, Houston looks set to storm back into the top 10 following her death.

Early sales figures show the late star could have as many as seven singles in the top 40, with the highest - former chart-topper I Will Always Love You - on target to reach number 10.

WHITNEY IN PICTURES