Publisher Simon & Schuster is offering refunds for those who purchased the $600 special edition of Bob Dylan's new book "The Philosophy of Modern Song," per The Associated Press. The musician's publisher also apologized after acknowledging that the author did not individually sign the hand-signed copies.
The publishing house issued a statement Monday on Instagram following days of complaints from customers, who compared their copies through social media and found the autographs eerily similar. The books included a letter certifying the signature's authenticity from Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp.
Initially, the company maintained that the signatures were authentic and refused to issue refunds, per Variety. On Friday, the company's response to concerned customers read, "We certainly understand any concerns you may have, however – Each individual copy of the limited signed edition of Bob Dylan's THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG was personally signed by the author and is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the publisher of Simon & Schuster."
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However, the company eventually conceded that an autopen digitally reproduced the signatures.
"To those who purchased THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG limited edition, we want to apologize," Simon & Schuster wrote on Instagram. "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."
"The Philosophy of Modern Song" was published on Nov. 1.
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