Dave,
When John Reilly died, the collector, Tom Munnelly decided that any proceeds from the recordings should go to a school for Traveller children.
Peter Kennedy acquired a copy of the recordings and put them in his catalogue, and despite requests to either remove them or pay the Traveller school, he continued to sell them without payment or permission right up to his death.
If a previously unknown song turns up in the tradition, falls into the hands of a musician or singer who then makes minor adjustments to it so it still remains recognisable as the one collected, does the source have no rights to the song - legally or morally - if not, why not?
If I have the thrust of this threas right, the singer/songwrters out there are prepared to throw traditional music to the PRS jackals in order to protect their own work.
Jim Carroll