The Chicago area song circle I used to attend before we moved to the frozen north of the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan had some songs "owned" by regulars. I supposed I "owned" a couple because I heard that people who missed me when I moved would now sing them. I was never bothered by someone singing something I did, by the way. There were a couple people who "owned" some Stan Rogers and Michael Smith songs which they did often. Sometimes that could be a bit touchy. Once someone there sang The Water is Wide (in my opinion way over-sang/emoted it). Someone else came in after that performance and sang a very nice version of The Water it Wide. The other person, needlessly in my opinion, mentioned he had done the song a half hour earlier. I thought, what difference did it make. This was supposed to be a fun gathering, not a contest. I don't think the second Water is Wide singer ever came back.