"that can never happen to copyrighted songs".
Of course it can't today Dave - how can it ?

Moving on
Howard - been meaning to respond to your point for some time
The scene you describe was certainly not mine the ealy clubs based themselves largely on what became available after the BBC project - there may have been quibbles as to how that should be performed but there was little argument as to what it was.
Music Hall and Victorian parlour ballads hardly ever featured - the Topic output is evidence of that
I can'r recall hearing much in the four three cities I've lived in
When Dylan arrived on the scene singing songs based on folk songs the clubs divided - in Manchester, you wanted traditional stuff you went to one of Harry Boardman's clubs (I was resident at two - you wanted singer-songwriter stuff you went to The Shaespeare Head or the MSG (on nights where they booked em' - they kept si.S. and trad separate
I desperately tried to like Dylan because al my mates did but found his compositions trite and meaningless
His early protest songs I could take or leave (lovely article by a writer who called himself 'Jack Speedwell' summed him up perfectly in one of Dallas's magazines.
I stopped trying to like him when I read an article by American actor/singer Theodore Bikel describing how this 'protest singer' refused to accompany Seeger and co South to take part in the sit-in Civil Rights Protests until he was handed his fare publicly and couldn't refuse
When Baez's biography came out Dylan was exposed as using his friends as a stairway to stardom - in the end he found his place in history a a pop singer - 'It's all Over Now, baby Blue' was his exit song
The two styles of 'folk' co-existed rather than co-operated
Sing-around clubs were virtually unheard of

You raised an interesting point on the toxic thread - how can you bring new singers on without offending audiences who turned up to hear reasonably sung songs
After the setting up of The Critics Group, a dozen or so similar ventures sprang up I ran one in Manchester before I left for London
MacColl and the Critics were urging clubs to assist less experienced singers and people began to volunteer to do so
I'd been in London about a month when Dick Snell knocked on my door asking could we work together
I agree with you totally that anybody can sing - but this needs encouragement and practical help - you really won't get that on a scene based on festivals and paid gigs
Sorry if I missed anything else you asked
Jim