It's all about 'bums on seats'. The musicians are not the ones being expected to pay, but when their performances, however good, do not pull in the punters, the organiser cannot be expected to subsidise the event, whether a club or a singaround. The whole system is biassed against the amateur or semi-professional entertainer.

The risk to a landlord is that he pays the annual fee, then the club may fold or move elsewhere. Charging the club directly would remove this risk from the venue.

Many fine performers give their services FREE on occasion, but that doesn't help. Musicians know that if they don't have the venues, they can't play.

And I suppose there will always be more people wanting to watch football than listen to folk music.

I hope someone can pick up the suggestion about a club licence, but I am over in Luxembourg at present, not in the UK.