I think there is plenty of room for the dual approach.....the academic and the singing them just for the love of it and I think it is healthy that we have both.   For me I will always prefer to hear them sung. I remember going to a ballad conference in Glasgow to celebrate 100 years of Child, maybe about 15 years ago, and a fair bit went ower ma heid until Jo Millar got up and sang as part of Dr Emily Lyle's paper..... Since then I have entered into the research and seeking them out and all through my time at Uni ( I went in as a mature student in 2000) I got ballads into everything. They last because they deal with the stuff of life...birth, marriage, death and everything else forbye.