Bob Dylan expresses his regret and apologizes to fans over his book's controversy.
Earlier this month, Dylan and his team released his book, "The Philosophy of Modern Song." Fans bought the book for $599 each, and a huge demand happened because 900 copies were only made available.
However, they showed their disappointment when they saw the autographs were alike and had no variation. Buyers then assumed that Dylan's signature was only inscribed on the books using an autopen.
A week after the controversy arose, the "Like a Rolling Stone" hitmaker issued an apology statement and said that the "error in judgment" was due to his bad case of vertigo.
According to the 81-year-old crooner, his health issue prevented him from signing his book.
"However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years. It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging," he said.
Dylan noted that the pandemic made it impossible for him to sign anything, and his vertigo worsened it.
He received an offer to use an autopen and agreed to it because he was assured that it was already being done in the art and literary worlds.
Publisher of Bob Dylan's Book Also Issues Apology
Before Dylan's personal statement, his publisher had already apologized to fans as he admitted that the "hand-signed" copies were not individually inscribed into the books.
On Instagram, Simon & Schuster said that the books have Dylan's original signature. However, it also noted that the signatures were printed in a penned replica form.
It then offered buyers a refund for those who do not want the book anymore.
Meanwhile, a page at Autograph Live highlighted the issue even more by sharing the photos of the 17 variations the buyers noticed.
Although its price tag was already whopping enough, Variety revealed that vendors on eBay sell the signed book for as much as $6,000. The website and the sellers have removed most of the listings.
Amid its controversy, Bob Dylan's "The Philosophy of Modern Song" still earned critics' approval for offering commendable content to the readers.
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