The Death of the Autograph book and Rise of Pay to Meet

One thing I have noticed over the past few years when I have attended events such as Comic –con that you are now having to pay if you want an autograph or a photo with one of the celebrities attending.  Who set the precedent for this? When I was a teenager any autograph opportunities were free and you generally had an autograph book as you weren’t under obligation to purchase anything.

I have attended a few Comic cons on the last couple of years and to get to see the celebrity of your choice and either get a photograph or an autograph you have to pay £15 or £20 for one or the other, so if you wanted a photo and an autograph then you pay between £30 and £40. That to me is scandalous!  I have come to two conclusions as to why this happens. The first is, the organisers are looking to recoup the money they have paid for the appearance fee, or my second conclusion is that the celebrities (or their management) are looking to make extra money and are greedy.

If my first conclusion is correct then surely the organisers are making money from selling the tickets and charging the people who wish to exhibit. If it is the second then I hope there are some celebrities out there who would make a stand and not charge as it does seem to be the norm at all these conventions.  The people who attend these events have already paid to get there and to get in, they should not be subjected to having to pay to meet their idols..

It’s not just conventions where you are having to pay to meet an idol. Emma  wants to go to Tyler Oakley's (a Youtuber)  book signing next month.  She is having to pay £15 for the privilege. Granted she gets a pre-signed (non personalised) copy of his book and a selfie with Tyler but the website states that due to time constraints Tyler will not be able to spend any extra time chatting with people.

Come on, when I meet Thunder in the late 80’s I bought their CD and then queued up for the autographs all of which were personalised and signed in front of me.. The guys were great and chatty, nobody hogged their time and loads of photos were taken.  The band also performed live for free. There were security around but they were not needed to ask anyone to move along. I have seen book signings lately and it is like a conveyor belt and completely soulless and would surely leave everybody unsatisfied.  I am hoping Tilly doesn’t have that feeling.

Fans need to make a stand and not attend any events where you have to pay because how long will it be before some celebrities will charge when a fan asks them for an autograph or photo on the street.