Richard. Rod Stradling (Musical Traditions)looked into the question of copyright when he reissued the Cecilia Costello LP. At the time he seemed to feel that the ice was a bit too thin to take a chance on with the rest of the catalogue.

I haven't spoken to him on this topic for quite a while, so I've no idea whether there might have been further developments. Even so, I think that a project such as this would be too fraught with loopholes for one person to tackle.

Of the other names you mention, I can't see the NSA wanting to get involved. EFDSS might be a possibility, but I'd have thought an unlikely one unless and until the question of copyright ownership is entirely resolved. Ditto for ITMA. Plus there is an added problem if the latter were to issue only the Irish stuff, in that it would effectively break the collection up.

My feeling is that it's going to take a consortium of committed people to thoroughly investigate the copyright problem and to persuade the copyright holders to waive their rights in the name of artistic heritage (or whatever).

Sounds to me like this would make a useful topic for discussion at a future Tradsong Forum meeting.