Simon & Schuster have apologised and offered immediate refunds to those who purchased the $600 special edition of Dylan's new book, "The Philosophy of Modern Song."
ADVERTISEMENTBob Dylan’s publisher has been caught in a greedy lie.
Simon & Schuster is offering refunds for a $600 (approx. €576) special edition of his new book, “The Philosophy of Modern Song,” acknowledging that the allegedly “hand-signed” copies were not individually inscribed and instead contained replica autographs.
“To those who purchased The Philosophy of Modern Song limited edition, we want to apologize,” Simon & Schuster announced in a statement. “As it turns out, the limited edition books do contain Bob’s original signature, but in a penned replica form. We are addressing this immediately by providing each purchaser with an immediate refund.”
Simon & Schuster’s statement came after days of complaints from customers, who through social media had compared their copies and found the autographs suspiciously alike.
The books had arrived with a letter from Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp, vouching for the signature’s authenticity.
“You hold in your hands something very special, one of just 900 copies available in the US,” read the letter. “This letter is confirmation that the copy of the book you hold in your hand has been hand-signed by Bob Dylan.”
Read the full letter below:
“The Philosophy of Modern Song” is a 66-chapter tome in which Dylan, 81, writes about his favourite songs by artists like Nina Simone, Hank Williams, Jackson Browne, The Clash and his childhood hero, Little Richard.
It was published on 1 November and is Dylan’s first book since his 2004 memoir "Chronicles: Volume One."
Dylan has not publicly commented on the autograph fraud.
