Bob Dylan gets tangled in book signing controversy

Henry Bernstein has seen Bob Dylan 27 times in concert and owns three items signed by him: a copy of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album, and a photo of singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding. His favorite song is “Tangled Up in Blue”.

So when Simon & Schuster, Dylan’s publisher, announced limited, hand-signed copies of his new musician’s essay collection for $600 each, Bernstein was among the 900 fans who went for one. Last week, he received his copy of “Modern Song Philosophy” The first collection of Dylan’s writings since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, with a notarization letter signed by Jonathan Karp, the publisher’s CEO.

There was only one problem.

Bernstein said Karp’s signature “looked more legitimate than Bob’s.”

Bernstein was one of hundreds of fans who trawled through social media, coming to the conclusion that the hand-signed books weren’t, in fact, signed by Dylan.

“I got the nostalgia bug,” said Bernstein, who already owned an unsigned copy of the book, as well as a Kindle and an audio copy. He added, “If he touches this book—he wrote it and signs it—it seems Bob Dylan’s soul is with me.”

Instead, many fans have suggested that “signed” copies of the book were signed by a machine.

Justin Stefman, Professional certifier who runs a Facebook group for collectors, said the signature was likely generated by an automated device. The machine that recreates signatures is used by universities, celebrities, and most notably the White House.

Handwritten calligraphy usually flows, Stefman said. But, he said, “With a pen machine, you go from one point to the next,” adding that the starting and ending points of each stroke hit the page. Dylan’s signature in the new books also appears to have “a slight wiggle all over the signature,” he said.

“It didn’t seem like something someone signed on to; said Stefman.

As orders started coming in last week, Dylan’s fans began comparing notes online, and it quickly became apparent something wasn’t right, Stefman said. Steffman collected photographs of at least 17 signatures that all looked as if they had been generated by a machine. He added that items signed by Dylan usually sell for $1,500 or $2,000.

“They started popping up, and everybody got them on the same day and it was immediate — we all knew it was opened automatically,” said Steffmann. “More and more people shared their copies, and we all bundled it up.”

Simon & Schuster customer service originally refused to issue refunds and even denounced “online rumors” about the possibility that the signature was fake, Stefmann said. Twitter and Reddit users also got involved; a chat panel One fan encouraged others who had bought the book to write directly to Karp, CEO of Simon & Schuster. Fans poured into his inbox, including Bernstein, who, like others, received a personal response from Karp promising a prompt refund.

By Sunday, Simon & Schuster issued a public statement that provided few details but acknowledged that Dylan’s signature had been submitted “in facsimile form.” The publisher said it would give buyers an “instant refund”.

In response to a request for more details, a Simon & Schuster spokesperson declined to elaborate.

“We acted quickly to remedy the situation, halting sale of the book and beginning the process of issuing an immediate and automatic refund to all customers who purchased the book,” spokesman Adam Rotberg said in an email Tuesday.

Dylan’s music label, Columbia Records, did not respond to a request for comment.

Dylan is far from the first celebrity to be accused of using auto signatures. Fans encountered the signatures of Dolly Parton, Brian Wilson, Kenny Loggins and Ozzy Osbourne. Donald Rumsfeld, the former Secretary of Defense, has been criticized for using an automated signature In messages of condolence to the families of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While there are still questions about the decision to use Ally’s signature in Dylan’s book, fans are confident Dylan had nothing to do with it.

“I was surprised by the sheer number they were saying they had — 1,000 copies in and of itself seems like a red flag to me,” said Laura Tenchert. Who hosts a podcast called “Definitely Dylan”. “I suppose he has better things to do with his time.”

Tenchert described the situation as “messy” but said, “I personally assume Bob Dylan wasn’t involved in this.” She noted his history of keeping ticket sales “affordable and available” to fans, which, she said, “suggests that it’s important for him to reach his fans.”

There’s also a million dollar elephant in the room: Dylan, 81, He sold his entire recorded music catalog to Sony Music for $200 million this year, and sold the songwriting rights to Universal Music in 2020 for more than $300 million.

“For me, it would be so uncharacteristic that he got involved in cheating his fans,” Tenschert said. “I don’t think he needs it.”

Steffman, the certifier, believes that the signatures used in the book are based on the pencil signature that Dylan uses in his book. artistic work.

“Everyone reacted so aggressively right away, and this continues to happen with many artists. It’s horrible that they can flood the market with these automated printers.” “Someone needs to hold them accountable.”