Paying for autographs.
 

In science-fiction and fantasy film culture if you go to a convention the stars of these films charge money for an autograph and photo. I hear Mark Hamill of Star Wars and the voice of the Joker charged up to $250.00. I understand sports stars are the same way? If you sign 15,000 autographs at a convention that can be big bucks. I hear some actors, the more successful ones, give the money to charity, while some pocket the cash.

I have mixed feelings about this. I know some "lesser" stars from this genre can make some good money this way, but at the same time something just feels wrong but I can put my finger on it. Maybe it seems greedy?

What are your thoughts?

Maybe it is in lieu of an appearance fee. Nothing wrong as far as I can see, the people who get the autographs would have no hesitation to sell them.

Steve Gilchrist charged $10,000 for his mandolins. Plenty of takers and he was making money. Then he found that people who paid him $10,000 were turning around and immediately selling them for $20,000. He started charging $20,000.

If there is a value involved, why shouldn't the person who created the value participate commensurate with their contribution.

I hate to say this but the economic model states that if people are willing to pay for something they value and want- they will.
I think the opportunity stems from demand.

I grew up in Beverly Hills, California, surrounded by movie stars. Our neighbors were Kim Novak, Johnny Weismuller, Sal Mineo, and most of my friends parents were writers, directors, producers, and professional musicians/entertainers.
One afternoon, mom takes me to lunch and spots Rory Calhoun sitting with Elizabeth Taylor, hands me a napkin and a pen and says: "Go ask for their autographs". And as a 9 year old, I asked my mom: "Why would I care for their name on a piece of paper?" Still feel the same way almost 60 years later.

I met Pete Rose one time, in his office. i asked him for an autograph- for my brother-I figured it would be an neat gift. So I'm sitting at his desk and he's looking at me and he says do you have a pen and something to write on? And I said, It's your office, you must have that stuff around here.

So he laughed and found some stationery and a pen and wrote a nice note.

I still laugh about it. He was a hell of a nice guy.

My deceased father-in-law had collected a lot of autographs from big band members in the late 30s just after he graduated from high school. They all came through Worcester, MA where he lived. His mother even took him to NYC to places like the Waldorf Astoria to see some of them. He got the band leaders and singers like the Dorseys, Cab Callaway, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Bing and Bob Crosby and others. He usually got all the band members, too. My favorite is Vaughn Monroe for this reason. My father-in-law didn't live to see it, but one of his granddaughters ended up marrying someone who owns the house Vaughn Monroe lived in when he was running the Wayland Inn outside of Boston. He would have been thrilled.

So what does this have to do with value of autographs? Well, he got those because they were his heroes. His eyes would sparkle whenever he looked through them. I see them as a moment in time when that teenager was getting an autograph from an idol and can feel his excitement. He wouldn't sell them for any amount. I wouldn't either.

I've only ever asked for one autograph, Paul McCartney. He didn't charge me a penny. I've got a feeling that he probably doesn't need the money. :D

Yeah, I have had to pay a few people to take my autograph. ;) That was years ago, so I'm sure I'd have to pay more these days.

:D

My son was telling us how these pricey autographs seem to be the norm at conventions to which a solicitor friend of ours said it was disgusting to be charging so much for a signature.

I asked how much she charged to put her signature on the bottom of a letter but she didn't appreciate the irony.

In the age of the smart phone and 'selfies' I don't understand getting autographs. Surely a picture with the famous person is better than a bit of scribble on a napkin.

A thought OP. is it any different to someone like Tommy Emmanuel and his meet and greets? You pay a substantial amount on top of your concert ticket, which gets you a few minutes to meet him, and he'll sign whatever you want and have a pic taken with you. Same thing IMO. I don't have a problem with either of them. It's their time your paying for.

Does this have anything to do with changing your name to Liam???

When I met John Denver back stage in 1994 I didn't pay any extra to get back stage. I was given a back stage pass for free.

I also have a personal letter from actor Jimmy Stewart that was free.

Interesting historical example:

Manfred von Richthofen's mother recounted an incident where she was with her son and a man came up and asked the Baron to sign 50 Sanke post cards that had his photo on them.

Richthofen answered rudely and in no uncertain terms that he would not do such a thing and sent the fellow on his way.

When the mother asked him why he did it, he told her he once signed several autographs on postcards for someone who had requested them and shortly afterwards saw the same person selling the postcards on the street for exorbitant amounts of money. Apparently he was a bit naive at the time about signing autographs.

That would have been cool. Was Mr Denver nice? I guess in TE's case, he plays 300 + shows every year. And he has a lot of people wanting that few minutes with him, their idol. He used to meet everyone that wanted to after his shows, but in his own words, it was getting too much and too tiring. So he has the official ones now where they know the numbers of people coming and he does it before soundcheck. That way when he finishes on stage he's out of there.

When I saw TE last winter, after the show he came outside and was meeting the folks and chatting and signing whatever people wanted.

My understanding is that he donates all the money from his pre show meet and greets to charity.