Thankyou for that thoughtful and informative post, Jim. But I'm still confused by your suggestion that singers and songwriters 'cling tightly' to their songs.

I really don't think people do - or can. Once a song is published anyone can sing it, without permission - that what publishing means. I can record a Steve Knightly song without asking him, I merely have to attribute it correctly so that he recieves the royalties he is due. (And I checked this with him when I did)!

An arrangement however just means a version. Unlike a writer's copyright, it really only applies to a singer's own performances of that registered arrangement.

Do you have evidence of artists telling others that thay cannot sing certain songs because the artist has registered an arrangement or a writer's copyright? If so then it's just sound and fury signifying nothing, in law - or so I was told by PRS when I checked with them many years ago. (Though maybe I misunderstood - in which case I'll need to do some back-tracking)!

As I said above, registering an arrangement doesn't prevent anyone else from singing the song, or registering their own arrangement (though they do have to members of PRS to do this).

Royalties are collected on, in theory, every public performance of every song. Who recieves that royalty is then down to who is credited on the sheet (assuming one is filled in, which is not always necessary, but that's a complex story in its own right).

None of this could be called a failure to pass on the material. In fact by singing a song the artists IS passing on the material with every performance.

Tom