The book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, features the singer-songwriter's commentary on tracks by other artists and was released in early November, with a limited run of 900"hand-signed" editions sold for $599 each. All copies came with a letter of authenticity from the publisher Simon & Schuster.
But as buyers began receiving their copies, many posted photographs of their books online - and quickly realised they featured identical signatures.
In a statement, the 81-year-old musician said that all his signatures "over the years" had been hand-signed.
"However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years," he wrote. "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 autopen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done 'all the time' in the art and literary worlds.
This story is from the November 29, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 29, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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