But how does the money get directed to the original song creator? Can ContentID detect covers? Does the original song creator come by and flag the video?
I think right now Lady Gaga, unless I missed something.
However, "Surfin' USA" goes to whomever owns Chuck Berry's rights to "Sweet little sixteen" -- those were much more similar than "Born This Way" and "Express Yourself" IMO.
David Paich gets paid every time a radio station plays wheezer's cover of Africa, while the wheezer gets no money for radio play of that song.