Georgiansilver has a point - the key to this is Dick's original point about 'community'. One of the more plausible definitions of 'folk music' is music performed by and for members of a community for their own entertainment. I imagine that those who dreamed up the standard folk club format had this ideal in mind. That doesn't mean it's the ONLY format for the presentation of traditional songs, although it is a particularly good one, and to put said songs on a larger and/or more formal stage certainly changes them. But ultimately the survival and relevance of the folk club format will depend on whether younger organisers can be persuaded to run that kind of venue.

As one who tries to earn a living in the C21 music business, I know about the harsh capitalist economy and agree our music is underpriced and undervalued, but I'm in this mostly for the love of the music itself, and the community that nurtures it. I find it sad that 'folk' musicians are being treated ever more like commodities, and that the sense of shared adventure and committment that I used to find on the English folk scene seems to be a casualty of a more commercial approach. Even though that approach means we get a bit less piss taken out of us.