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Bob Dylan AUTOPEN Info To Help With Returns / Refunds - Simon & Schuster, Premiere, and Coles

***URGENT UPDATE

Three Articles Published by Chris Willman at Variety
 
 
 
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
A message posted by Bob Dylan to his Facebook account
 
To my fans and followers,
 
I’ve been made aware that there’s some controversy about signatures on some of my recent artwork prints and on a limited-edition of Philosophy Of Modern Song. I’ve hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there’s never been a problem.
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. So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn’t help. With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary worlds.
Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.
 
With my deepest regrets,
Bob Dylan

 

Previous update 
Some users have uncovered potential autopen use within Bob Dylan's expensive art prints. Please check your prints if you own one and post a picture on this thread if you have any concerns.

here is a link to one of his art prints in question

https://www.castlefineart.com/art/bob-dylan/cactus

*UPDATE -  Let this be a warning to ALL publishers and celebrities in the future. We are sick and tired of these autopen releases. Our community has had enough and absolutely will not stand for this practice to continue any longer!!! 

I want to point out that Coles Books needs to be commended. They made sure to look out for their customers and refused to ship these out if they came from the same S&S stock, which they did. It was also an easy process to cancel orders beforehand if you wished. Coles. on behalf of everyone, I want to thank you for having integrity and watching out for all of us.

I can NOT say the same about Premiere Collectibles. They refused to honor cancelation requests until it was known these books were in fact autopenned. They advertise themselves claiming they are collectors themselves. This is not true. They are a retailer first and only care about your money. There have been other autopen incidents where they absolutely refused to accept blame, stating items were real when they were clearly deemed autopen by the community. Be careful with future purchases with Premiere Collectibles.

This email came directly from Jonathan Karp at Simon and Schuster. If anyone still wishes to send him a message, here is his email address as well.

jonathan.karp@simonandschuster.com

We apologize for the mistake that was made and are offering a full refund of your purchase.  Please keep your copy of The Philosophy of Modern Song at no cost. We hope you will enjoy reading it.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Karp

Here are 51 articles and counting detailing our combined efforts on this forum

New York Post - Screenshot.jpg

New York Times - Screenshot.jpg

Los Angeles Times - Screenshot.jpg

Washington Post - Screenshot.jpg

Rolling Stone - Screenshot.jpg

Rolling Stone pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

Billboard - Screenshot.jpg

Billboard pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

Variety - Screenshot.jpg

Variety pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

Variety pt3 - Screenshot.jpg

USA Today - Screenshot.jpg

The Daily Beast - Screenshot.jpg

People - Screenshot.jpg

Daily Mail - Screenshot.jpg

Ultimate Classic Rock - Screenshot.jpg

Yahoo - Screenshot.jpg

Inside Hook - Screenshot.jpg

Poetic Justice - Screenshot.jpg

Exclaim - Screenshot.jpg

The Music Universe - Screenshot.jpg

Literary Hub - Screenshot.jpg

Stereogum - Screenshot.jpg

Esquire - Screenshot.jpg

Boing Boing - Screenshot.jpg

NME pt1 - Screenshot.jpg

NME pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

I Heart Radio - Screenshot.jpg

Publishers Lunch - Subscription required

Spiegel - Translated Screenshot.jpg

Boston 25 - Screenshot.jpg

Spin - Screenshot.jpg

Uproxx - Screenshot.jpg

Newser - Screenshot.jpg

Vigour Times - Screenshot.jpg

Pitchfork - Screenshot.jpg

UPI pt1 - Screenshot.jpg

UPI pt2 - Screenshot.jpg

Daily Caller - Screenshot.jpg

Far Out Magazine - Screenshot.jpg

Gulf News - Screenshot.jpg

Breitbart - Screenshot.jpg

American Songwriter - Screenshot.jpg

American Top 40 - Screenshot.jpg

We Got This Covered - Screenshot.jpg

Healthcare Buisness - Screenshot.jpg

Music News - Screenshot.jpg

Music Times - Screenshot.jpg

Happy Mag - Screenshot.jpg

Sydney Morning Herald - Screenshot.jpg

The Guardian - Screenshot.jpg

--------------------------------------------

ORIGINAL POST

I am creating this thread as a comprehensive all in 1 link for returns, refunds, chargebacks and claims made regarding the "signed" edition of Bob Dylan - The Philosophy Of Modern Song. Please use this link to email Simon & Schuster, Coles, and Premiere Collectables as 100% proof these were signed using an autopen machine. 

I would like to say right off the bat, Coles Books in the UK is handling this professionally and seem to care deeply about their customer base. They have stated that, once they are in hand, If they find evidence of them being autopenned, they will cancel all orders.. Kudos to Coles.. I wish all retailers would follow their lead. If you wish to cancel your order with them immediately instead of waiting, It seems to be an easy process.

This post will be continuously updated with new information over the next few days

Please refer to this article for the time being until more information is added

https://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1290-cjbk/news/collectors-quest...

Here is the post I created a few weeks ago with info regarding the Indigo incident.

https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/indigo-bob-dylan-po...

So far, there have been a total of 17 confirmed different templates for the autopen machine used for Bob Dylans signature. I am in the process of creating video comparisons for all 17 sets. Please post full page photos of your item as they are delivered to aid in this process 

Here are all 17 templates used by Bob Dylan - I am still looking for full page photos for numbers 8,13 and 15 thru 17 but its still best to post whatever you receive

Be aware when checking against your own copy, it has come to light that they are possibly using 1st and last names interchangeably. Bob in #2 matches perfectly with Bob in #13 while Dylan in both are different

14th variation confirmed

15th variation

16th variation - Seems to be almost an exact combination of #11 and #13 with a different vertical line in his "D" 

17th variation

Video and photo comparisons created so far

Video of set 1 Dylan1.mp4  - Photo of set 1 Dylan1.JPG

Video of set 2 Dylan2.mp4  - Photo of set 2 Dylan2.JPG

Video of set 3 Dylan3.mp4  - Photo of set 3 Dylan3.JPG

Video of set 4 Dylan4.mp4  - Photo of set 4 Dylan4.JPG

Video of set 5 Dylan5.mp4  - Photo of set 5 Dylan5.JPG

Video of set 6 Dylan6.mp4  - Photo of set 6 Dylan6.JPG

Video of set 7 Dylan7.mp4  - Photo of set 7 Dylan7.JPG

Video of set 9 Dylan9.mp4  - Photo of set 9 Dylan9.JPG

Video of set 10 Dylan10.mp4 - Photo of set 10 Dylan10.JPG

Video of set 11 Dylan11.mp4 - Photo of set 11 Dylan11.JPG

Video of set 12 Dylan12.mp4 - Photo of set 12 Dylan12.JPG

Video of set 14 Dylan14.mp4 - Photo of set 14 Dylan14.JPG

Here are the COAs stating these books were in fact hand-signed

Suzanne Baboneau for UK - Certificate Of Authenticity UK.jpg

Jonathan Karp for USA - Certificate Of Authenticity USA.JPG

Coles listing before it was removed - Coles Website Listing.jpg

Important emails:

Jonathan Karp US - CEO of Simon & Schuster
jonathan.karp@simonandschuster.com

Duane Ward of Premiere Collectables
duane@premierespeakers.com  - Others have tried duane@premierecollectables.com

Suzanne Baboneau, Managing Director
suzanne.baboneau@simonandschuster.co.uk

Ian Chapman, UK - CEO
ian.chapman@simonandschuster.co.uk

Bob Dylan's Manager

Jeff Kramer
OK Management
275 South Beverly Drive
Suite 215
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Phone: 310-535-1647


Bob Dylan's Agent

Brian Greenbaum
Creative Artists Agency
2000 Avenue Of The Stars
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: 424-288-2000


Bob Dylan's Production Agent

Sony/Columbia/CBS Records
550 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-833-7305


Bob Dylan's Law Firm

Manatt Phelps & Phillips
11355 West Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: 310-312-4000

Bob Dylan's Twitter

Tweet or privatly message Bob on his verified Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/bobdylan/

Bob Dylan's Facebook

Post or message Bob on his verified Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/bobdylan/

I also found this email associated with Bob Dylans store. Its worth a try

BOBDYLAN@EPICRIGHTS.COM

Media Publications who may be eager to pick up this story - Please email them a link to this post and all related content

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/corp/contactus.html

For story pitches, please send:
News to Jim Milliot and John Maher
Soapbox ideas to Rachel Deahl
Features to features@publishersweekly.com

Related content:

Dolly Parton is also guilty of using multiple autopens in the same fashion with multiple templates over the years but with a slight twist where they manipulate the page as the autopen machine writes her signature. If we are looking to stop all future attempts at autopen usage, she needs to be held accountable just as much as Bob Dylan and S&S. Link to threads below

Here is a great example provided by Eric Keith Longo

Dolly Parton Autopen Example.jpg

http://www.feelnumb.com/2022/03/09/dolly-parton-fake-autograph-song...

https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/dolly-parton-signed...

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Replies to This Discussion

Who here has stated that an autopen is "handsigned" or acceptable to autograph collectors?!  (Hint: NO ONE).

There are obviously some people out there in the business or marketing world who decided that since autopens are "acceptable" or "legal" for other purposes that they could be used on books and art prints as well.  What we as collectors see as fraud, they see as a brilliant business strategy.

Stating this fact does not mean that people here agree with that mindset.

And BTW, what passes as acceptable in the art world would shock many people here.  Some of the top artists outsource the actual creation of their artworks to studios.  The artist comes up with the idea and then another person paints or sculpts the piece. It is then sold as an original artwork by the famous artist. 

We’re not talking about “other purposes” or what is legally valid for signed documents. These are other situations. This was advertised as “personally signed”. An autopen is not a person. 

Fully agree with Jor-El here.

Also, what you say about outsourcing artwork may be true but is not (yet?) the point of discussion, nor relevant for the autopen case.  

I think it may be a slightly different case in the UK as we as consumers have more clout  - we have the 2015 consumer rights act  which is Law and i am well versed in as I have a current problem over another expensive purchase (Nothing to do with this) , there are internet and long distance seller regulations in the UK  which I'm guessing you don't have in the USA?

I would love to know what Bob Dylans response is going to be, but I will be contacting a UK lawyer over the weekend, I suggest others do aswell, particularly anybody that has bought a £3K -£25K  art print too in the last 2-3 years! 

I will also be contacting Jonathan Karp at S&S as according to the statement Mr Dylans Team will be operating with the Publishers and Art galleries to put this right - when they say that I would assume anybody that ordered a book from anywhere will be receiving what they ordered - the same as anybody that ordered a signed art print too - I'm assuming we all want what we ordered and a written apology hand signed by Mr Dylan??

I suggest everybody starts bombarding Jonathan Karp in the US and Suzanne Baboneau in the UK of S&S to see how they and Mr Dylan are going to put this right as this isn't going away anytime soon! 

Because I sure as hell want both a signed book and a signed apology - with not an autopen in sight ever again ! 

People who ordered a book were refunded the purchase price.  S&S made them whole.  They even got to keep the autopen forgery.  They are not legally entitled to a free authentic book (and letter) on top of that. 

People need to stay within the realm of what is reasonable and realistic.

If everyone gets their money back then after that I'd be happy if the autopen scams in the publishing and art worlds were put out of business once and for all.

Thats true - but a refund does not take away that we were victims of fraud, and if we had not exposed this ourselfs we would not have recived any refund.

If you belive you can try fraud and everything is good if you refund when you are cought then you have to read the law better.

In the US we have civil and criminal courts.  I believe that fraudulent behavior itself, apart from what is reimbursed,  comes under criminal court.  Prosecutors need to initiate those cases. In civil cases, the injured party or their lawyers would initiate the process.

As far as civil courts are concerned, as a practical matter, once you've been made whole financially, the claim is satisfied. If you have lots of money to burn, you can keep suing and suing, with an uncertain outcome.

Your suggestion that I am saying that fraud is OK if you refund if caught is total nonsense.  It gets back to my point about people attacking each other here when we are all on the same side.

Correct Lars. There’s two different things: a refund because the item that was sold was not as described, and two putative cases of fraud and a crime that may have been committed.

Also, JK I don’t see people “attacking each other” but the discussion seems to get clouded by arguments about other situations where autopen might be acceptable. Dude (or his team) has admitted he was wrong! The statement is lame, as he used autopen for the prints and the books, in other words he hadn’t learned from the first time he was unable to sign due to his disese. Also, he couldn’t sign but he could paint?? If we hadn’t found out, no excuses would have been made and now it has been revealed it’s “sorry, sorry sorry”. That doesn’t take away the deliberate fraud and misleading of fans imho.

Some people confuse criminal and civil issues.

If you think a "crime" was committed then get a county, state or federal prosecutor to indict Bob Dylan.

Fraud is a crime, but considering that many violent crimes don't even get prosecuted now, I doubt Bob Dylan is going to be charged criminally, especially if people are being refunded. 

If you think you have a civil case, then stop pontificating here and cough up the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars that it will take to hire a lawyer to sue Bob Dylan.

This community has already achieved a tremendous victory with the refunds and admission of autopen use.  If you want legal action then see above.  

Pontificating? Strange judgement from someone who previously complained that people were attacking each other…

I am not talking about other (violent) crimes, please stick to the case that we have. All I said is that there are two different and separate things: a refund because the item was not as described, and a putative fraud.

If I steal your car but give you a refund, I still committed a crime.

Also, I never stated I had any interest in taking legal action but somebody else might, e.g. the galleries.

This isn't a £30  book or £50 print these ranged from £500 to £25K....

I was refunded by Indigo, but didn't get a Free Book - I wouldn't want a Fake book anyway ! 

I'm in the UK and want what I originally ordered back in September -  that is well within the realms of being reasonable and totally realistic - even we have to pay X amount for it - same as If I had bought a signed art print - which I nearly did from Castle Fine Arts a few months ago ! Bob and his team seriously need to put this right by a lot more than a paltry apology (I'm not even on Twitter)  and I'm guessing there are still people out there totally unaware this is even happening ! 

JK is right, even under UK consumer law it does not give you a right to demand the autograph. They cannot deliver and made you whole by refunding the full purchase amount. That's it. The contract has been rescinded.

If you want them to offer more it would be because of customer satisfaction. You should appeal to their wish to keep the fanbase happy - it's a relatively small community, they shouldn't kill their best cows if they want to keep milking us.

Lars also has a good point, this is possible criminal activity. This can be made aware to the authorities who might investigate and take action. However criminal law does not give us any more rights as a consumer.

Nobody wants the autopen book. I sure don't. It p***** me off when I see it on my table, so that doesn't make things whole to me. As they say time is money, how many hours did people spend sending emails and filing disputes, fighting, compiling the info here, trying to get their money back, and dealing with frustration, being pissed off and disappointed, etc. An apology and a crappy book I don't want don't take those away. I don't expect they'll do anything more, but for me to feel even I'd want more than a fake apology and something to fill my trash can. 

Thats like saying if someone robs you, then once they get caught, they return your money and apologize... that you shouldn't feel any different, and are even now because you were made whole, and nothing else should come of it. When that's not the case... You still had to deal with the trauma and would still want compensation or the person to be punished, then maybe you'd feel justice was served. 

Granted this isn't as extreme as being robbed directly, and we'll all be fine once we get over being pissed off and the disappointment... but being ripped off/scammed/lied to by someone you're a big fan of doesn't feel great, having a dream item snatched away also doesn't feel great. So it's not exactly as simple as a refund and fake apology erasing everything... but I'm not expecting anything good coming from it, like others said its probably not a legal obligation for them to do anything more... unless of course anyone does decide to sue.. if they do offer real signatures that would be awesome, and would erase a lot of the bad feelings, but I'm not holding my breath. 

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