Nerd-

Again, I agree that both oral and printed transmissions are important and both have played roles in the creation and transmission of traditional material. I will argue again that print antecedents of many native American ballads are either rare or non-existent. If print was a primary agent of transmission, we should be able to locate more print versions of "Jesse James", etc.   And we're not talking about a few songs, but hundreds.

On the Todd-Sonkin recordings (1940-1941) many informants note that they learned particular songs from family members. In other North American collections, variants are credited to family members, co-workers or friends. Others remember transcribing lyrics of newly learned songs and ballads. Far fewer informants report learning new material from commercially printed sources. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but if it was widespread there should be more evidence.

We should also acknowledge the African-American influence upon native American balladry, and that requires us to axknowledge the degree to which African-American folk music in the late 19th / early 20th century was an oral tradition.