Thanks for sharing with us the story that you were told by Gary. All I know is what I witnessed from eBay and other (now defunct) websites that were alleged run by the gentlemen who bought and sold the Master Reels.
In the very beginning (around late 2001/early 2002) it was just...
"Julia"
"The Dealer"
"Lady From The Mountain"
"Gold & Braid"
"Sanctuary"
"Blue Lamp"
...and I want to say two or three more that initially appeared on the web and sold for hundreds of dollars per CD from this guy who said he purchased the contents of the Modern Records storage unit that was auctioned off.
About a year later, all the other reels started appearing on this guys website for purchase, although at a considerably discounted rate ($50 per CD, which was still too high IMO). It wasn't until another year or so later that they started being traded and put up for free download for the rest of us "poor fans".
We probably will never know the "real" story as to how all this happened. At the time it all started, I was just aghast and amazed how much money this person wanted per Reel.
And going back to the original post, I find it incredibly interesting that Stevie and company went to YouTube to rediscover these demos (just like she did for "Secret Love") which would suggest she had somehow "misplaced" or downright LOST a lot of reels from her "vault".
Like the initial article stated...
Nicks says that she just recorded "18 tracks in three weeks" for the album -- saying that it's the "fastest I have ever recorded. We went onto YouTube and we found all the songs that, somehow, were taken from my house or picked up or loaned out or whatever ... and we went to Nashville (and recorded them)," Nicks told the Associated Press. "So they're like all starting from like 1969 maybe? I call them my 24 karat gold songs."