Bob Dylan has apologised for the controversy surrounding the signed copies of his new book The Philosophy of Modern Song.

The legendary 81-year-old musician sold supposedly 'hand-signed' copies of his book for $599 (around €570), only for fans to realise they were mere reproductions of the singer-songwriter's signature. Dylan addressed the matter on social media on Friday, November 25th.

"I've been made aware that there's some controversy about signatures on some of my recent artwork prints and on a limited-edition of Philosophy of Modern Song," he wrote on Facebook.

"I've hand signed each and every art print over the years, and there's never been a problem. However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years. 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.

"Using a machine was an error in judgement and I want to rectify it immediately. I'm working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that."

Simon & Schuster have already addressed the controversy, issuing refunds to all purchasers. The publishers had provided letters of authenticity along with the books, signed by CEO Jonathon Karp stating that "the copy of the book that you hold in your hand has been hand-signed by Bob Dylan."

Their new statement read, "As it turns out, the limited edition books do contain Bob's original signature, but in a penned replica form." They apologised for the misinformation.

The novel is a 60-essay piece which focuses on songs by artists such as Stephen Foster, Elvis Costello, Hank Williams and Nina Simone. The musician provides his insight into popular music, how genres interact with each other, and songwriting tactics.

Dylan recently played a live show at Dublin's 3Arena, on his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour.