There's a dose of self-delusion at the heart of folk music, namely that certain songs rose from the ooze, an aggregate of human consciousness and language which is an index of their value, whereas other pieces are merely the work of professionals handy with a catchy tune and a pithy lyric.

Once that chunk of dubious objectivity is seen for what it is, that Anon is no better than Nina, that money or lack of wherewithal don't inscribe themselves into a tune beyond the listeners own recognition baggage, the important aspects of Folk music Pop or Bob to the surface. If every unattributed tune were suddenly named in a wizardly bit of academic research, like Jesus's bones being found in the desert, the space they occupy would be no less important for nailing their authorship.
If an appreciation of Folk lies in wilful ignorance of the facts - that folk was probably always a specialist not a common taste - better that something else fills the gap.