Whitney Houston Songs: Sony Raises Prices 30 Minutes after Singer's Death

Whitney Houston, the celebrated pop music icon, died on Saturday at the age of 48. While many around the world mourned, Sony Music immediately raised the price of Houston's greatest hits album, Ultimate Collection, on iTunes and Amazon.

Sony Music raised the price of Houston's songs just 30 minutes after her death, reports The Guardian. The retail price was raised from about $8 (£4.99) to about $13 (£7.99), which automatically raised the price of digital sales on platforms such as iTunes.

Apple and Sony originally declined to comment, but Sony later answered to the outcries from fans around the world including those in Australia and Great Britain.

Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mispriced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday, Sony said in a statement according to the New York Times. When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offense caused.

Ultimate Collection was originally released in 2007 and was the second top-selling album on iTunes Monday morning in the U.K. according to Guardian. In the U.S., Houston's album Greatest Hits is currently the top-selling album on iTunes according to Venture Beat.

Many technologists, including chairman of the NY Tech Meetup Andrew Rasiej, suggests that Sony should be boycotted for the move. In a tweet, Rasiej wrote, Geez Sony raised price on Whitney Houston's music 30 min after death was announced. #FAIL [link omitted] We should boycott Sony.