As Whitney Houston’s friends, family and adoring fans continue to mourn the untimely, but somewhat predictable, death of the 47-year-old R&B singer, others have moved on and entered the final stage of the grieving process: making money.
As reported by the New York Times and the Guardian last week, Sony Music came under fire after raising the prices of two of Houston’s albums mere hours after her death. Houston’s 1997 greatest hits album, The Ultimate Collection, jumped 60 per cent on the U.K. iTunes, from $7.85 to $12.50, while 2000’s The Greatest Hits (is there an echo in here?) also received the Houston death bump, going from $12.50 to $15.67.
At first, Sony didn’t respond to accusations of price gouging, but as criticism spread online, the company issued the following mea culpa: “Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mispriced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday. When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offence caused.”
Speaking of offences. It was also reported that Netflix had stopped streaming The Bodyguard, starring Houston and Kevin Costner, on its website, leading many to speculate that Warner had yanked Netflix’s streaming rights so it could profit from increased DVD sales. Sadly, unlike 9/11 being an inside job, the fake moon landing and Rod Stewart’s stomach ailments in the 1970s, this is one conspiracy that might be untrue.
According to Netflix, the company hasn’t streamed The Bodyguard since its streaming licence expired last year, and Netflix still offers the film in the U.S. through its DVD rental service.
That said, the AV Club website has reported that despite Netflix’s claims, there are still customers who maintain they were able to stream the movie just days before Houston’s death. But that would mean Netflix and Warner were somehow in cahoots, and that a corporation like Warner would engage in crass and opportunistic practices to profit from Houston’s unfortunate demise. Frankly, that’s just too bleak and depressing to be believed.
In other news, in the upcoming weeks, K&K plans to launch its new blog and online marketplace, Houston, We Have a Problem, where heartbroken fans can purchase handcrafted Whitney Houston memorabilia from So Emotional Tissue Holders to I Will Always Love Ewe Wool scarves. Stay tuned.
