"The BBC classification makes more sense."

To the British, maybe. To Americans, no. I'd have to agree that the "Roots World" name is just as bad as 'world music'. Perhaps it is because it attempts to straddle a divide that can't be straddled? I don't know. But it is a ridiculous and meaningless name.

When I say 'roots music' is a serviceable term in a US context, what I mean is, the term 'roots' is used in the US to apply to American traditional, reggae, rock, country, blues, and some other genres. So if you say Cuban roots music, people have an American context to compare it to, though much is lost in the translation.

Yes, in the US we also use that despicable and inaccurate term "international" to describe music festivals where the enough of the acts comes from outside the US. However, we don't find the use of that term in association with music to be all that difficult to suss out the meaning.

WOMAD is a purely British phenomenon & export. Sure they've had token festivals in far flung places that once were familiar to the Empire. But was that because the Sri Lankans were screaming for the Drummers of Burundi to come play for them in their post-tsunami era? It was organized & promoted by the same British and European organizers who organize all the European festivals.

How many Sri Lankan musicians played, where were they put on the bill, and how much were they paid compared to the Drummers of Burundi and the British and American acts? As I recall, they had exactly one Sri Lankan act. In my view, that is tokenism. Especially considering that the first languages of Sri Lanka aren't English, but Sinhalese and Tamil.

WOMAD failed in the US because it wasn't needed (we already had our own festivals) and because it was also in direct competition with already established multi-cultural and/or international music festivals. Sure they blamed the US government, but the real reason WOMAD rarely held festivals in North America is because of lack of interest & ticket sales.

It also failed because word quickly got out that the organizers like Peter Gabriel paid put themselves at the top of the bill & paid themselves on a different scale than the 'world musicians'. When some of the 'world' American acts they tried to sign got wind of that and pulled out, there was WOMAD with egg on their faces.

WOMAD could have done great here, but their arrogance and cultural blinders stood in the way of bringing a great British festival to the US.