It's easy to get so emotional about a singer after they've passed prematurely, as Whitney Houston did Saturday at the age of 48. But fans seeking to buy her albums in remembrance weren't too happy at sudden price hikes so soon after her death.

The Brits picked up on it quickly, with London-based Next Web writer Matt Brian and The Guardian's Josh Halliday both finding the price increases, which raised Houston's "The Ultimate Collection" 2007 album from £5 (about $7.89) to £8 (about $12.63). In the United States, the cost is even steeper: $15 for the "Greatest Hits" collection at both Amazon and iTunes. 

Halliday found out that Sony Music increased the price of "The Ultimate Collection" at about 4 a.m. Sunday, not even 12 hours after news broke of Houston's death. Fans were quick to point fingers at Apple for the anti-sale, but it turned out that when Sony bumped up the wholesale price of "The Ultimate Collection," iTunes and other retailers automatically upped their pricing.

We've reached out to Sony for comment and will update if/when we hear from them.

Digital Spy found consumers who said the price change happened even more quickly: 30 minutes for it to jump from $4.74 to $12.62, which prompted one buyer to fume, "The album itself is great so please don't be put off purchasing it, just [realize] that you will merely be lining some fatcat's pocket before Whitney's lifeless body is cold."

Houston's "iTunes Essentials" album is even more expensive at $18.45 for 15 songs (vs. 36 songs for $14.99 on the "Greatest Hits" album, which was originally released in 2000).

Over at Google Music, you can't find those albums, but there are a smattering of free singles, including "Greatest Love of All" and "So Emotional."

Meanwhile, at Walmart, things are just plain fishy. Though the retail giant has exited the music download business, it is still a massive CD retailer. While the pricing of Whitney's CDs hasn't changed, every single one is listed as 'out of stock online.' Could that really be because of a surge in buying? Or is there a price change afoot?

As of this morning, three of Houston's singles were in the top 10 singles chart at iTunes, including the No. 1 "I Will Always Love You," which was also sung in tribute by Jennifer Hudson at last night's Grammy awards. Houston's "Greatest Hits" album was No. 2 on the iTunes albums chart, runner-up to only Adele, who swept the Grammy awards with hits from her "21" album.

After negative backlash from fans outraged about Sony Music raising prices on Whitney Houston's digital albums within hours of her death Saturday, the music label has now apologized for what it says was a "mistake" on its part.

The New York Times reported on a statement issued by the label admitting to its error and by Sunday night, Sony had changed the prices back:

    “[The] Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mis-priced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday. When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offense caused.”

It appears the alleged mistake was made by a Sony employee in Britain "and that the company gave no orders for prices to be raised on Ms. Houston’s music."

Brit blogs such as Digital Spy and The Next Web, as well as The Guardian, found that Sony Music increased the price of "The Ultimate Collection" and "The Greatest Hits" digital albums in the U.K. at about 4 a.m. Sunday, not even 12 hours after news broke of Houston's death. Fans and others assumed the increase was Apple's fault, but it turned out that when Sony bumped up the wholesale price of "The Ultimate Collection," it raised retail prices across the board.
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The price for "The Ultimate Collection" went from about £5 (about $7.89) to £8 (about $12.63).

In the U.S., the pricing never changed. Houston's "Greatest Hits" album remains at a steep $15 at both Amazon's MP3 store and iTunes — a price we presume was the same prior to her death.

Despite the apology, much damage has already been done. For a few days, the outrage over Sony raising the prices of Whitney Houston's digital albums in the UK seemed to be on par with the outpouring of grief over her premature passing. Tweets sarcastically called the increases "classy," while others questioned whether it was really a mistake at all, vowing to boycott all Sony products.

The day after Houston died, Sony Music issued this statement about her:

    “Whitney Houston was an icon and a once-in-a-lifetime talent who inspired a generation of singers and brought joy to millions of fans around the world. She had a voice of unmatched beauty and power that changed music forever, and she leaves behind an indelible legacy of timeless songs that will never be forgotten. She also was an important member of the Sony Music family who spent her storied recording career with Arista Records. She will be greatly missed. Our deepest condolences go out to her daughter and her entire family.”

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Sony has made other flubs in consumer relations in the past year, with strained relations with its gamers after the spring 2011 hacking fiasco that leaked the personal information of 77 million players, and even prompted some shareholders to call for the resignation of Sony CEO Howard Stringer.[/size]

At what point in time did this Brit Employee think raising the price was a good idea? And what kind of power does he or she have to make this happen? Fail!