This is a circular discussion for the simple reason that neither glueman nor sinister supporter know much about the study of ethnomusicology, which is an academic discipline that studies the relationship between music and culture, and which is what the ITCM is about.

One of the things that neither seem to understand is that the organization does not decide what is or isn't folk/tradtional music. The members of the organization are independent of the organization, and they chose the areas that they study on their own--though often in connection with an academic institution.

If there is a committee, it is the sort of academic committee that degree candidates choose to oversee their studies. If, for instance, you were studying at, say, UCLA, and wanted to do your dissertation on the the introduction of the fiddle into the dance music of Greek expatriate communities in North Jersey, you'd take it up with your committee.

If you were at Indiana University, and wanted to study the relationship between Puerto Rican break dancing and African-American rap, you'd try to persuade a few of the professors that it was a valid ethnomusicological topic, and, if they went for it, maybe a few years later, you'd present a paper at the ICTM conference.

As far as folk clubs go, if you were the Greek fiddle person, you might take your "informant", a Macedonian fiddler who now lives in Hackensack, around to play for international folk dance groups, and bring his daughter along to sing a few of the old Smyrnaic/Rebetic laments, maybe appearing at a few folk clubs and folksong societies,
or maybe not, and complaining that they only want to hear navel-gazing singer/songwriters and such things.

The thing is, the only dances and clubs that you'd collect music from would be the Greek ex-pats in North Jersey.