Crazy Train Derailed

[Mike Shepherd]

I was visiting my son in Los Angeles in February.  We were driving through Burbank, when I heard a song on the radio that had a very familiar sound.  “Is this a new Ozzy song?” I thought to myself.  Then, as if he was reading my mind, my son said, “Dad, this is the new Ozzy song.”  I immediately reserved my vinyl copy of Ordinary Man at a local record store in Sherman Oaks, called Freakbeat Records.  The owner was a pleasure to deal with.  I could not wait to listen to the full album.

The following day, I was on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, when I saw a sign outside of Amoeba Music advertising an Ozzy Osbourne autograph signing.  The signing was scheduled to occur on Friday, February 21st at 5:00 PM.  I had every intention to attend.  The night before the signing, IPCollectables25 reported on Autograph Live that the line began to form that morning, and that there was already 200 people waiting outside.  I therefore decided to pass.  Thanks to Autograph Live, I did not arrive the next day to be disappointed.

You can imagine how excited I was when Marek Czech informed members of Autograph Live that autographed copies of the CD were made available through Musictoday’s website.  I immediately placed my order.  I fully intended to purchase the Ordinary Man Deluxe Softpack CD for my truck anyway.  This presented an incredible opportunity.

Thanks to Mike T’s due diligence, at least three autopen signature styles have been exposed.

The items have recently been shipped by Musictoday. Once again, members of Autograph Live have done their due diligence.  At least three autopen signature styles appear to have been used on the CD booklets.  When my copy arrived, it seemed to match others already in circulation.

My autographed copy of Ozzy Osbourne’s Ordinary Man CD booklet.  I will allow readers to decide for themselves.

This is a shameful practice, and needs to end.  Full disclosure in the item description is not a lot to ask for.  EBay buyers are currently purchasing these items unknowingly.

Who is to blame?  The artist?  The collector?  The music company?  Are we simply naive?  Ozzy’s new album was on the right track.  Now, things seem to have derailed for many fans.

[Mike Shepherd]

Thank you for the information, Ken.  It is all very frustrating.

[JJ]

Very nicely written, Mike, as you express the sentiments of many.

Like so many artists. but more than most, Ozzy is tightly managed and needs handlers. He shows a net worth of $220 million. I’ve met him a couple of times and while he is brilliant and legendary I don’t think he had a “hand” in this. I think the only thing he’s been able to do on his own in recent years is have an affair, and that surprised me considering the tight grip that surrounds him. Guilty by association, but I doubt he’s directly complicit. 

Like you, I purchased a couple “autographed” CDs, which are autopen fakes. My order form said to contact Musictoday by email, which I did, and the email auto-response said that they would get back to me in 48 hours, which they haven’t. So, I have filed a complaint with PayPal and provided them with links to some of these discussions to help them make their decision. 

Musictoday is owned by Coran Capshaw. Among other things, he manages the Dave Matthews Band. He’s apparently worth $1.2 billion. Look him up on Wikipedia. Why someone worth that much would be involved with stooping so low by cheating fans is beyond me, but hopefully all of this bad press will serve as a wake up call, not just for Musictoday but for all involved with similar fraudulent activities. 

[Mike Shepherd]

Thanks, JJ.  You are very fortunate to have met Ozzy.  I have not.

[Todor]

I am a big fan of Ozzy the musician and performer. I know little about Ozzy, the person. But if he had anything to do with all this, that would be very disappointing.

[Mike Shepherd]

It is difficult to imagine that Ozzy would be aware of everything that occurs with his business.  It is more likely that others made this decision without his knowledge.  I agree that it would be very disappointing.