Charging for Autographs?

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Just wanted to see what your opinions are on celebs, musicians, athletes, etc. charging for autographs or pictures. Thought it was an interesting topic.

[blue]

i think it's pretty disgraceful.  if someone's your fan, chances are they've already bought and paid for multiple things which have put money in your pocket.  i've encountered a few people i'm a fan of, in both music and comics, and they've always been gracious and happy to sign one or two things.

the first time i heard of paying for autographs was David Boreanaz (Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who charged £15 a squiggle, and didn't even have the courtesy to look up or acknowledge the people who were there to see him.  the second was that complete waste of oxygen Jordan.  unless you bought "her" book on the day, you couldn't come in.  some girls waited overnight to see her and were kicked out because they'd brought their own copies!  (i hasten to add, i was nowhere near this event :) )

i certainly wouldn't pay for an autograph, and i'd be a lot less inclined to be a fan of anyone who expected it.

on the other hand, since no one buys records or cds anymore, i suppose they have to make a shilling somehow

[wisteria]

My opinion, to buy something, the signature should not charge.

[AndyR]

I don't know about the world of modern pop and media, but charging for autographs in other areas has arisen because there is a market for selling memorabilia.

If you find that people are selling your autographs, that you gave away for free, for apparently large amounts of money, well... you might well start charging for it. Especially when you get the git in the queue who goes "can you sign this, and this, oh, and one here, and this program as well..."

It might be for their "collection", but sooner or later they're going to sell it.

When I first heard about the idea of people charging I thought "that's a bloody cheek". But then when I sat watching the professional "autograph hunters" at cricket matches, I kind of understood.

I've never actually been to a "book-signing" - is it common practice to allow every tom, dick, and harry to turn up and get things autographed, including the book itself when it wasn't bought at that retail outlet?

I have been to a bookshop after a book signing... can you find a copy that hasn't been defaced by the pillock?? Nope.... :lol:


I've got no problem with people charging for their signature. It's a complete pain in the @rse when you have to sign hundreds. And if it's worth something to others - it obviously is, because the people want it - then why shouldn't you charge? It's not going to make you any more or less popular with the people that actually like what you do...

HOWEVER, it is a judgement call on the part of the celebrity...

If I ever got into this dubious postion, I personally wouldn't charge for general autographs - especially ad hoc ones where I'd been recognised by the general public. If I was "in a hurry" at my place of work (eg entering or leaving the venue) I wouldn't sign anything - "sorry, haven't got time".

But if I was doing a product signing, I would ONLY sign products, not autograph books and boobs, etc... If the retail outlet was happy, I would happily sign pre-bought copies of the product, but I suspect that the retail outlet would not be happy :lol:

[Alex]

The only type of autograph I give always results in me being charged something.  :(

[FELINEGUITARS]

I'm so turned off by paid for meet and greets (seems like Kiss and Bon Jovi) set the ball rolling with that one.

But on the other hand a lot of the usual revenue streams are being eaten into with venues wanting a huge slice of merchandise money  on top of everything else and fewer people actually BUYING the music.

Did you know that Rihanna got a number 1 album with only 9000 units sold (across all formats) recently.........painful compared to past sales numbers.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

All good points. I was originally dead set against it, but thinking about it a bit, it mostly makes sense to do so. Only in certain situations, however. At an autograph signing, yeah, charge all you want, but if you're out in public and spotted or at your place of work (disagree with Andy here, I think this is a prime spot to sign) its a shame to not give someone your signature for free.

[dave_mc]

pretty much +1 on what feline and andyr are saying- I don't like it, I wouldn't pay for one, and I'd like to think that, were i in that situation, i wouldn't charge, but i wouldn't really blame them either without knowing more about their particular circumstances etc..

[Philly Q]

I've never actually been to a "book-signing" - is it common practice to allow every tom, dick, and harry to turn up and get things autographed, including the book itself when it wasn't bought at that retail outlet?

I've only been to a couple, but in my limited experience it's usually only one signature per punter, in a copy of whatever new book they're there to plug, and you have to buy it there in the shop.

I did once go to a signing by Tom Sharpe (God knows why, I don't even like his books) and he was signing any of his books you wanted, but again they had to be bought on the spot.

At the various film festivals I frequent, they'll often have guest appearances and signings by directors and/or actors.  You can bring you own stuff to get signed, and in the pre-eBay days some people would bring loads of different things.  Now that autographs are more marketable, it's usually just one item per person.

Never seen anyone actually charging for the autograph itself, though.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I did one with Kiss back in 1982 and the security treated the fans who'd queued all day in the rain like scum.
In the end it was horribly rushed and Ace Frehley was off his face.

When I did the filming with Queen for the I want to break free video shoot they couldn't be nicer and had time for everyone there.

This clip of Ted Nugent has got to be one of the biggest turn-offs for a fan to see.

http://youtu.be/XOq84IYRHr8

[dave_mc]

^ i'm no fan of ted nugent (as a person, not the music), and i'm tempted to say, "wow, ted nugent's a douche, that's surprising", but at the same time i sorta know what he means- if they are professional autograph hunters who will just sell it on, then it's perfectly fair that he not give it away for nothing.

At the same time, though, i'm not a major fan of collective punishment or tarring everyone with the same brush- I'm sure there are plenty of genuine fans who just want his autograph on something they own, and have no intention of selling it on. Making those people pay for an autograph because, "oh, some people sell them on for more and i don't like that/I want a piece of that action" doesn't sit right with me. Added to the fact that most of the people wanting the autographs have probably already bought something by ted nugent i.e. already given him money...

:)

[itamar101]

This clip of Ted Nugent has got to be one of the biggest turn-offs for a fan to see.

http://youtu.be/XOq84IYRHr8

That's disgusting. It's a 2 second autograph for gods sake... and it's not like he doesn't have any money...

[dave_mc]

i didn't actually think of that. that's pretty funny. he spent a minute and a half arguing with them to avoid giving them a 5 second autograph. :lol:

(granted, he'd say it's the principle of the thing, which is fair enough, but it's still pretty funny)

[Philly Q]

I like Ted's music (well, y'know, the '70s stuff.... and Damn Yankees) but the guy is a total dick. 

In that clip, he's not even behaving in an OTT, offensive manner like he so often does - but negotiating over the price of autographs in that way?  Knob.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I actually do not blame Ted for this, I think it's great of him to stand up to this. It's obvious every one of those guys are there to get the autograph and sell it for profit. Why should Ted not see any of that?