I was checking through my YouTube videos this afternoon as I have been planning to record and upload an alternative version of "The Lakes Of Pontchartrain" - which I recorded some years on tenor guitar.

I was annoyed to see that a Copyright Claim for the video had been made by Kobalt Music - whoever they are - and they were getting "monetarisation" for it by the usual YT ad popping up when the video is played.

So I checked my facts, clicked on the "Dispute this claim" link in the YouTube video manager page, and lodged my dispute on the grounds that the origin of this tune/song was unknown and that it was a traditional piece, composer unknown. I also quoted the Wikipedia article which supported this. Less than 30 minutes later, I got a message from YouTube saying:

"Good news! After reviewing your dispute, Kobalt Music Publishing has decided to release their copyright claim on your YouTube video."

It's only a small matter, but it demonstrates (a) that there are probably lots of cheeky buggers out there trying to make money from traditional music and (b) if I can challenge that practice successfully, perhaps others can.