Bob Dylan’s publisher is offering $600 refunds for customers who purchased a special signed edition of his new book, “The Philosophy of Modern Song,” after acknowledging the signatures were not individually inscribed, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
“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 wrote in a statement on Instagram.
— Simon & Schuster (@simonschuster) November 20, 2022
Prior to the statement, customers had been complaining on social media about the similarity of their autographs, according to AP. When customers received the package, they also got a letter from Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathon Karp saying the signatures were authentic, the outlet reported.
The book, published Nov. 1, is Dylan’s first since 2004, and it “offers his extraordinary insight into the nature of popular music,” according to Simon & Schuster’s official website. He wrote “over sixty essays focusing on songs by other artists, spanning from Stephen Foster to Elvis Costello, and in between ranging from Hank Williams to Nina Simone.”
Dylan’s commentary in the book has generated some controversy for his opinions about certain musicians, Rolling Stone reported. While heaping praise on Elvis Costello, Dylan also claims Costello’s early music “exhausted people” for, he says, being “way too wordy. Too many ideas that just bang up against themselves.” Other critics have slammed Dylan for his apparent lack of commentary on songs by female artists, with an LA Times review and others labeling the book “misogynistic.”