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The Pros and Cons of Meet-and-Greets

It’s about time I tackle this subject. I must admit, though…I’m doing so with lots of second-hand stories and editorializing. It’s also after midnight (no Clapton reference intended). I’m a little tired and just typing off the top of me head!

A few of the late night shows did a comparison between the meet-and-greets that were happening at Avril Lavigne’s concert recently. She was charging $400 for the meet-and-greet, but you couldn’t touch her. That created a series of pictures that were…really funny to look at. Fans were standing two feet from her.

A few days later, there were photos of Rhianna’s meet-and-greet. I’m not sure what she was charging, but one thing for sure. She was getting up close and personal. She’d have her arms around you. She’d let you grab her a**. She’d do wacky photos, if that’s what you wanted. And it really seems that if you’re spending the big bucks for the meet-and-greet, that’s the way a celebrity should be with the fans.

Now, this leads to the autograph collector. Since I worked for five years at a classic rock radio station, I had been backstage many times. This was before meet-and-greets were so common – unless it was put on by the radio station or some other promotion. There was never a price attached to attend them (ah, the good ol’ days!)

The first time I had the opportunity to spend money for one, was to have dinner with Paul McCartney for $5,000. I was on the fence about it. Only 20 people were being allowed to attend. When I called a few days later, they told me only two people had signed up. I was thrilled. There might only be a few of us. I told my friend he was the only Beatle I needed to complete a set, but I still wasn’t comfortable spending that much money. He and I came up with a good plan, though. I’d bring 20 albums. Have him sign those, and sell 10, to help shoulder the cost. Now, selling autographs goes against everything I feel about this hobby, but if it meant I got into an event cheaper, I was considering it. I said, “There’s no way he’s going to sign 20 albums for me.” My friend replied, “There’s no way he’s not going to. You paid five grand to get in! He owes it to you.”

I ended up not going, because I figured the most he’d sign for me was five. Thankfully, I eventually got his signature another way.

Now, fast forward 18 years. I met a guy that DID go to that same dinner. He told me he brought eight items for Sir Paul to sign. McCartney sighed, and signed two. Paul then looked over at a big guy in a suit, who promptly came over and said, “Paul isn’t here to sign a bunch of stuff.”

McCartney said, “I’ll sign one more for you, but that’s it.”

The guy got three items signed for his $5,000 (which went to a vegetarian charity he was promoting). I won’t do the math, but…that’s a lot to spend for 3 items that aren’t worth that much. I was happy I opted not to do it.

My friend is a locksmith, and he was re-keying a concert hall that Bonnie Raitt was playing at. She had turned me down for an autograph years ago, but when she did a benefit my sister was involved in, she helped me snag a signature. Raitt was charging around $500 for a backstage meet-and-greet, that included eating with her. Yet all the money she charged went to charity. That certainly makes it more palatable.

My biggest fear about these M&Gs is that the autograph collector is the most likely to be disappointed. The fans that want the wacky photos for Facebook are set. That’s because most bands are probably willing to sign a few items, but not many more. So you have to decide – is $500 or more – worth one or two items signed, and some photos? Yet the more I hear and read about M&Gs, the more I’m finding out that bands aren’t willing to sign.

I spent $100 for a meet-and-greet with Steppenwolf, because it’s a band I love, and the money went to an animal rescue charity (and included watching the sound check performance). Singer/songwriter John Kay snapped at me when I slid a third item on the table for him to sign. This is a guy that is legally blind!!! Yet he noticed, after we were all told “two items each,” I had a 3^rd thing in there.

I’ve been writing the Kiss Kronikles, and a few have talked about how much they charge at the meet-and-greets. Well, I read an interview with former Metallica member Jason Newsted. He said Metallica always wanted them to do M&G’s, because Kiss made so much money. He said that it’s ridiculous to pay to meet Gene Simmons. He wouldn’t have a problem paying a few hundred to meet his favorite players from the 1970s Baltimore Orioles, but not rock stars. He said when you meet them in person, they should always sign autographs, and he’s never charged for an autograph until the website went up. He figures if fans want to order a CD or 8x10 signed on the website, they can pay, but never in person. Now that’s the attitude I want to see.

I’ve talked to a few friends that have paid for the M&Gs for “30 Seconds to Mars,” and they were told no photos. That bothered them.

There was controversy on the Godsmack website, when a fan talked about paying for the VIP package (which included a M&G). It wasn’t until after the purchase was made, that the band put on their Facebook page, “No autographs or photos.”

A woman was furious (and rightly so). She posted, “If they’re going to do this, they should state those rules on the page where we are paying for these tickets.”

Other people later posted that the band usually does sign, but only one item per person, and only if they have time. They will usually take photos, but with their photographer (which is a common practice for bands now). You then go to their website and download it.

I have been hearing horror stories regarding ZZ Top and how they handle M&Gs. This didn’t surprise me, because a stagehand I know, told me that’s the only band that ever refused to sign an autograph for him as he was working on the stage (and he only had one photo he would ask to have signed).

On the ZZ Top website, a man wrote a blog about how he was a big fan and paid $300 for the M&G. He was told by the bands manager that there would be no autographs and no photos. It would be a Q&A with the band, but that only 4 of the 20 people with their hands raised had questions answered. He was furious about spending the money for what was basically a cattle call.

Another woman wrote of a similar experience, saying she paid for this for her husband. It was enough money to feed them for a week, but she wanted to splurge for him. He came back to the hotel room rather upset. He said it was a quick three minutes and he didn’t get to say a word to the band.

So the conclusion I’ve come to is – do your research before dropping big bucks for the meet-and-greets. You might get an item signed, and a photo – but you might not. If it’s your favorite band or the money goes to charity – go for it. You’ll probably never get the chance again.

I just prefer bands to do what Def Leppard told me in an interview. They said they finally started charging for their autographs. They make everyone pay $5 and they give 100% of that to charity.

That’s affordable for everyone, and some charity gets a nice chunk of change.

Comment by Josh Board on May 17, 2014 at 10:23pm: I'll bet you a thousand bucks, going to our favorite charity, that the ones you just saw are fake. So...that's not realistic. Second, being in media, I've met so many more of these people than anybody on this site combined. I've interviewed them. Hung out with them. Partied with them. Having 10 minutes with Lennon wouldn't be as cool as you think. Seriously...what would you say to him? You'd spend 7 minutes gushing about how great he was. Not interesting conversation for either party. Yet, you get a signed Imagine album (right over the cloud)...that goes on the wall the rest of your life!!! You sir, aren't the true (autograph) fan.

Comment by Carlos on May 17, 2014 at 10:46pm: Lol you are amazing! I wish I was like you

Comment by Carlos on May 17, 2014 at 10:48pm: Let me know how it goes when you demand celebrities sign things for you at their meet and greets lol.
Ps a true fan would want a meet and greet not an autograph

Comment by Carlos on May 17, 2014 at 10:56pm: And yea you're right I'm not an autograph fan in the sense I don't collect just any old autograph from any person. There are a few I collect but I would rather meet them then get an auto that I can find later....and then I would have met the person and have an auto

Are you saying you collect autographs willy nilly? If you don't then by your definition you aren't a true autograph fan lol

Comment by Josh Board on May 17, 2014 at 10:57pm: Believe me, I wish you were like me, too. Anyway...you lost this argument, because...EVERYBODY that has attended these meet-and-greets (or the majority), has been disappointed by this very thing! It's why I wrote the blog. After hearing over and over again, about this happening, I wrote the piece. My friend...his favorite band of all-time is Tool. He had a ticket stub, from the first show...it was like $4 to see them ... and at a meet-and-greet, the singer wouldn't sign it. He'd only sign the $90 bottle of his wine that he purchased. And guess what? My friend is still a huge Tool fan, but he thinks the singer is a huge tool for not signing it for him!!!! A ticket stub he's had for over a decade...that meant so much to him...and he ticked off a fan. There's another fan who spent so much for her husband to meet ZZ Top, only for him to come back disappointed, that he spent 3 minutes with the guys, and his question wasn't even one of the 4 the band answered in the Q&A. So again...the people have spoken on this. They'd prefer the M&G to include an autograph.

Comment by Josh Board on May 17, 2014 at 11:00pm: And don't get me wrong, Carlos...I can understand somebody that would rather have a 10 minute conversation with Bruce Springsteen and NO autograph, vs the person that would rather have the Born to Run album signed, and no conversation. I get that. I just find it odd that you don't get it, the other way around.

No, I don't get any autograph. FOr example, I've donated 28 gallons of blood to the San Diego Blood Bank. When they have Chargers and other celebs at the event, they are usually people I don't care about. I have to be a fan. Now...if I was interviewing Miley Cyrus...I'm NOT a fan, but would have her sign a CD, because I could give it to somebody as a gift, or trade it for something I did like. Going to bed now...but will respond to anything else later. Thanks for a spirited debate.

Comment by Carlos on May 17, 2014 at 11:06pm: If they wanted an autograph maybe they could have waited for the "Signing" and not the "meet and greet". Maybe some of these people you talk to need to find their way around a dictionary

Comment by Peter C. on May 18, 2014 at 1:03am: Josh:
For me - Deep Purple are my absolute favourite group... I had opportunity to meet all of the current lineup during various occasions (3 times on aftershows - which I didnt pay!) - and my favourite moments with the band members were these:
- 1st - when my great friend and I made 20 minutes official interview with Don Airey - who was in great mood, told us fantastic funny stories and then after the interview he praised our questions like "by the way you had really good questions!"... and we are really proud of the result!
- 2nd - couple of stories from Prague meet & greet where Roger Glover talked to me for about 10 minutes because I gave him a little present (book) and he was very touched by that and told me special story (I have never heard about before) and then beautiful story with Steve Morse....

Yes, I got autographs too - but - THESE moments stays in my mind and are much more important for me than the autographs I got that days... My comments were not about asking the artist about autograph itself, its about how many of them - and even just one should be absolutely satisfying for ANY real fan - that´s my point. Any addition to that one autograph is just nice gesture and goodwill.

Comment by Peter C. on May 18, 2014 at 1:22am: Carlos:
Sorry, but cant agree with you too.... eBay business almost destroyed it all for real fans and I would never ever buy anything from any eBay or other dealer, because I truly hate the business side of autograph scene, that´s why I cant support your opinion. And also I agree with Josh - its sort of "awaited" that meet&greet contains a chance to get an autograph (the question really is how many of them - ONE signed item per person is perfectly enough for me) - and if not - it should be stated in advance....

Comment by Brian on May 18, 2014 at 5:07am: I used to work as a runner for a local club and got to meet a few of my rock heros. Being "on the clock" I never asked for autographs. I had great lengthy one-on-one conversations with a few guys while driving them around. But, I think the usual fan/star interaction is very limited in time. I've had those, too. And I agree with Josh - they're often quick, shallow conversations. I don't know if I've gotten older, met enough guys that the mystique has worn off, or just have become anti-social - but I can live without a quick shallow conversation with my heros. If I had something other than "I think you're great" to say to them, maybe I'd feel different. And like josh's story about the tool from Tool, occasionally you get really let down meeting your heros. I don't think thats always an issue of entitlement. It's just being let down.

Some people want face-time. Some people want an autograph. Some people want a photo. Some want all or any combination of the 3. Carlos, certainly you can find it in your heart to understand why people on AUTOGRAPH MAGAZINE.COM would prefer the autograph, no? Also just curious, I'm not baiting you or trying to change your mind or debate with you - have you done and M&Gs or met any of your heros? If so, all positive experiences?