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I am going to point my finger to who I feel needs to take in part, the blame for fake autographs.

I will confine my frustration to just Rock and Roll autographs since that is my area of what I collect. I am so fed up with what seems to be every gallery I walk into, every internet website I visit, and the increasing amount of horror stories regarding the signed garbage that is currently in circulation for sale. From those 9 Led Zeppelin signed LP's I saw last year in Las Vegas to the current conversation on another blog here regarding The Rolling Stones fake autographs and at every corner in between, our industry is more polluted than this summer's Gulf of Mexico's oil spill.

Yes indeed there is plenty of blame to go around, but I am going to point my finger where I think (at least a very good portion) of where the blame belongs, and that is with the artist/celebrity themselves.

These rock and roll celebrities spend millions of their dollars in every possible attempt to make millions more of your dollars, wanting you to purchase everything from concert tickets, music downloads, t-shirts, and (in the case of KISS) even condoms: http://www.rockandrollcollection.com/catalog/index.php?act=viewProd...

I do not see from any celebrity one word in any print, on any celebrity website, not one audio or video conversation being said, or any effort in any way, suggestion, offer, support, idea, or anything by any of them, about the amount of fake autographs being sold in circulation today that are simply ripping off fans. The only thing I see and hear is "they" (the poor celebrity, who is such a victim) getting upset that autographs that they sign (if they even sign) for what they percieve to be a "fan", is in reality being autographed to a dealer. Ohhh, booo-hoo, hoo. Let me PLEASE get them a tissue.

If these celeb's are tired of signing for dealers on the streets, then they need to do something about it. We all can offer dozens of suggestions of what might be a worthy solution. Some ideas will be practical and worthy to both the fan and celebrity, and some probably will not work in reality. However, I at this point in time just would like to see one celebrity, just one of the biggies perhaps, come out and admit that it upsets them to see the amount of bogus autographs that today are ripping off their fans. Having two admit it, would even be better. Then, maybe we can begin to go from there...........

Tags: autographs, bogus, fakes, kiss, las, vegas, website

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Comment by scott on September 4, 2010 at 7:12am: I really like this article. I am an avid rock and roll fan. I enjoy traveling to see concerts and buying their merchandise. I follow what is happening with my favorite bands. I wait for them to release a new album and go on tour again. It is something that I really enjoy. I tried to get autographs from my favorite bands and all I did was get taken advantage of.

Comment by Robert Babb on September 4, 2010 at 4:47pm: I mainly like to get rock autographs as well but country singer taylor swift seems to be a breath of fresh air! They showed on tv a few nights a go where she signed for 14 hours and i believe lady antelbelum signed as well. I know that all celebs do not have the time but i think they could try a little harder. If they are afraid of resale of items sign it directly to the person. As the saying goes you win some and lose some!

Comment by scott on September 6, 2010 at 2:49pm: Please explain more about the Led Zeppelin albums that you saw in Las Vegas. Why do bad autograph dealers seem to set up shop in tourist meccas?

Comment by Josh Board on September 6, 2010 at 4:44pm: I have a set line I use now. Followed by instructions for the celebs.

I was at an event with Adam Carolla. We were backstage, and I pulled out a Crank Yankers DVD for him to sign. As he signed it, his "personal assistant/agent" said "Yeah, how much are you going to sell this for?" I first said "Oh yeah, I'd get a lot on eBay for a Carolla autographed DVD." He laughed. his agent didn't. And as he continued to sign, I said "Thanks, Birchem" (the characer he played on that puppet show/crank caller thing). This lets him know, that I know, the product. I didn't just go buy it for $2 at a used DVD place.
I then tell the person, "Ya know, if you're worried about if someone is going to sell it, you have to feel out the situation better. I had one DVD. What would I benefit by getting one item signed? If I was an autograph dealer, I'd have 10 headshots, or 10 DVDs, in a briefcase."

If they seem like they're listening, I say "You can also personalize, or say to any fan 'I have a rule where I only sign one a piece, unless it's a charity function.'" What that does is---deters the dealers, and the fans are still happy, because they got their one.

Comment by Tim Henderson on September 6, 2010 at 5:38pm: I would love to see that! Preach on Stephen!

Comment by scott on September 7, 2010 at 6:41pm: I saw Chelsea Lately at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. If you bought her book at the event, she would sign it after the show. We got two and were very happy to get her autograph.

Comment by Stephen Duncan on September 8, 2010 at 7:32pm: Follow up: I agree 1000% that a celebs job is to entertain. They do not owe anyone ever an autograph at any time. However I ask just two questions from a celebrity.......
a) What is your opinion on the amount of people forging your signature and selling them to your fans?
b) Are you willing to be part of the solution?
Just curious............thats all.

Comment by john reznikoff on September 9, 2010 at 1:59pm: Great post and very valid

Comment by roger epperson on September 12, 2010 at 6:31am: I just don't understand why celebrites get so mad about being asked for autographs. I'm sorry but that's part of your job. That's part of the price you pay to earn millions of dollars a year doing nothing but playing music or acting. To me it would be like a printer getting angry because he got ink on his hands. That's part of the job! I do though believe that EBay is the cause for all of the forgeries that are now out there on the market. EBay gave the forgers a license to steal and these large galleries and web sites took it to a higher level. It has gotten so way out of hand that it is difficult to put a stop to it. But rest assured we are trying.