I agree George, if the experience of going to the club is bad, its name won't make any difference.

I was thinking of a club that might be having difficulty attracting younger people, and they might be put off by the name 'folk club'.

If the club's a good one (as we understand it - enjoyable artists and good atmosphere, as opposed to the boring floor singers doing the same 3 songs week in week out), then the challenge is to get people in the door, especially the young people that will hopefully give it a future when we're gone. Once there, the chances are they will enjoy themselves and come back in future.

But if the club is suffering from the problems some have mentioned (immovable floor singers who insist on their right to bore the audience every week, and an organiser too timid to do anything about it) then more drastic changes will be needed.