THE PRICE IS WRONG: Northern Ireland band...

THE PRICE IS WRONG: Northern Ireland band Therapy? and its record company, A&M;, are up in arms after discovering that some U.S. record stores are charging full CD album prices for the group’s new “Screamager” EP.

The disc contains only six songs totaling less than 17 minutes and carries an official list price of $10.99, with stores generally selling it for a dollar or two less. But A&M; and band representatives have discovered stores, including some national chains, selling the release for more than the list price, some as high as $15.99.

“It’s a rip-off, it really is,” complains an angry Gerry Harford, the band’s Dublin-based manager. At Harford’s request, A&M; is now placing a sticker on the EP saying that people should not pay more than $9.99.

Bob Bell, a buyer for the 340-store Wherehouse chain, counters that A&M;’s wholesale price for the disc is too high for a $9.99 retail price. The Therapy? EP wholesales for about $7, roughly $3 less than a full CD. “The wholesale cost suggests it should retail for about $11.99,” Bell says.