good question!

I remember ordering this when it first came out. Paid too...but never did receive it. Never even laid eyes on a copy years later. A pdf scan would be awesome Judas...maybe start with a small bit to gauge interest or setup a blog or something.

If anyone ever scanned the hundreds of pages of this book they would be a KING ! (or Queen

vc40 said:

I'd agree, if it was anywhere near complete. the truly interesting and obscure info is always on the far side of an unifinshed link.....

errant said:

That's why it's a work in progress.

vc40 said:

It's been told that some Uptown people are behind this, amongst others. Most of the info there comes from The Vault anyway. I just can't wait for Madhouseman to be able to finish his book: it'll be exactly the next huge thing after Per Nielsen and Alex Hahn's books!

Would it be illegal to post scans of the pages?I don't know anything about how to make a PDF version but I certainly don't want to bring myself any trouble but I do have the ability to scan pages and I have arranged to buy a copy of the book I am just waiting for it to arrive.

ychismb said:

It would be a copyright infringement and though it's unlikely that the Uptown folks would sue Prince.org (or anyone else for that matter), i don't think the mods would accept you posting it here, outta respect for the Uptown people.

Now, of course, it's up to you to share them through other channels. I wouldn't see any harm to it since it's outta print, no updated version is in the work, and the content is slowly being made available for free on the Princevault website anyway. But are you SERIOUS about scanning one billion pages by yourself??? If you are, a much more useful scanning would be Per Nielsen's DMSR, also out of print and, contrarly to The Vault, not being part of the Princevault project

databank said:

Man, is Pier Nelson and Co. really gonna give a shit? I've sent them emails over the years and got nothing in response. All we'd have to do is make the PDF file, put it up on bittorrent and boom, it'll be available to the world. It's totally different if the book was actually for sale, but it's not. It's a book ABOUT bootlegs, practically. It would be funny if former uptown folks actually gave a shit.

databank said:

Where can I get a copy of DMSR and what is the price tag on that one?

ychismb said:

The problem of scanning it is with the bulky size of the book and small print. In order to get a good scan you would have to separate the pages from the binding and I don't think that anyone is willing to do that. Maybe you will. I would be very careful about making these pages available to the public on the internet, esp. if you charge fees. You could still get sued for copyright infringement even if the book is out of print.
[Edited 5/23/10 16:00pm]

ychismb said:

Try sources like Abebooks, etc. that sell rare books. The prices vary. I was able to get an unused copy for $25.00 and that is on the low end of the spectrum. These can sell for up to $100 or more, esp. on ebay!

poetcorner61 said:

I don't think anyone here is considering charging for such a PDF scan, which would indeed be a rip-off. We're talking about sharing it for free, the same way we share out of print and unreleased Prince music. Though i've read it a long while ago, i unfortunately don't have Per Nielsen's book, neither do i have 100 bucks to buy it (and neither do i have a scanner for that matter), but i'd be quite grateful if someone allowed me to read it again by making it available online...
[Edited 5/23/10 16:11pm]

JudasLChrist said:

Why don't you ask him?

databank said:

I agree with you that it should be available as a pdf file to share for free, but the author would have to agree to that also. Even if it was scanned and shared for free, the person who scanned it would still be open to being sued for copyright infringement by the owner of the copyright. It really lies in Per Nilsen's hands.

poetcorner61 said:

I wouldn't charge a dime.My only intent would be to share with the fans but I certainly wouldn't want to get slapped with a law suit thats for sure.I have a special oversized scanner because I am an animation cel collector and I scan my cels to show to other collectors.

I have no clue how to make a PDF version but I do know how to scan a book page and put it online.

ychismb said:

You're the one who just ordered a copy, right? I just received a copy about a week ago and I looked at it, haven't had time to read it, but you may be able to scan it on an oversized scanner. The print is small but there may be enough margin space for you to do so. Again, be very careful how you share this online, if you choose to do so. Best wishes if you do! Would make an awful lot of people happy!

poetcorner61 said:

My scanner can pick up minute paint specks on a 20+ year old piece of painted plastic and is large enough to handle this book.I did indeed just order a copy and I am waiting for it to arrive.I would love to share with everyone but I wouldn't want to break the law.Such a pity!I wish there was a way around that.

vc40 said:

Per could make money SELLING it as an e-book, I suggested that to him and got no reply... I'd be happy to buy it if he did because his work definitely deserves a reward, but he obviously has no plan to do so... I can't imagine him suing anyone for sharing this book, Per isn't Prince.

And yeah, the book can be carefully scanned page by page without harming it too much, but a faster process (scanning it by double pages) would indeed damage it.
[Edited 5/24/10 1:50am]

databank said:

You have contact with that fellow?Would you mind asking him if he would let me do it?I would be up for the task but someone else would have to turn it all into PDF format since I have no clue how to do that.

ychismb said:

I don't have contact with Per, he just left his email address on the org a while ago 4 people who wanted to buy him his last copies of these books (4 more than 100 bucks each). Now if you ask him, it's likely he will say no 4 the sheer principle of it. If whoever did the "Fun With Vinyl" series had asked WB and other labels if he could do it, they'd have said no 4 the sheer principle of it We're talking about piracy here, so if u wanna share some material online, better not ask the owners if they agree unless u want them to say "no" Now don't worry about legal issues, as i said before i can hardly imagine Per Nielsen suing you from Sweden for something that he gave up making money from... not to mention that when something pops-up online, it's hard to know where it came from in the 1st place.

A quick google search will likely tell you how to make a PDF outta several picture files.

Many thanks for the effort if you end-up doing this. I think many of us would be happy to be able to (re)read DMSR
[Edited 5/24/10 3:37am]

databank said:

It's amazing how many of you seem to have not heard of GOOGLE BOOKS.

Then again, considering spelling Per Nilsen's name correctly seems to be an arduous task, it's no wonder you can't find it.

ychismb said:

Sheesh, errant mentioned his Org-account on page 1. How hard is it?

BartVanHemelen said:

I don't know the fellow and I think that such a request would come better from someone who knows him compared to just some random yahoo like me.

ychismb said:

most of us are random yahoos to him. he posted his email address publicly. clearly isn't closed to the idea of total strangers contacting him. that's how i found out that he's willing to let someone else carry on his research, if only someone was interested. i also asked him directly about the e-book version(to buy, which i would!) but there was no follow-up on that part of the conversation.

BartVanHemelen said:

Only snippets are on Gbooks. HUGE snippets, i'll give you that, but not the whole book.

Boy, I sure wish everything that I missed the first time around, or just didn't have the money for, or just didn't want to pay for in the first place, or just don't want to pay for now was available in a free and easy format for me to steal. That sure would be great.



FYI-
Out of Print does not equal OK to reproduce and distribute.

fuzzfacefrombboard said:

It's a good thing I don't care, eh?

fuzzfacefrombboard said:

No offense meant, but i take it u never bought or downloaded a Prince bootleg, nor did u ever download an out of print old Paisley Park album?

I have deep respect for both Prince and Per Nilsen but, hey, this is the digital age

I would retype the entire Vault book and post it, but it took me 14 minutes to type this out. I lost 9 fingers several years ago in a heavy petting accident.

squirrelgrease said:

Would you be willing to loan yr copy of The Vault for scanning?