I don't know what makes Lizzie Cornish such a target for despite here at Mudcat. Maybe there are reasons, but I don't see any in this thread.
What I do know is that I am quite surprised - and dismayed - to see our usually calm and equitable Joe Offer come unhinged.
Joe, I thought you were smarter than to create a false dichotomy. Surely no one who calls him/herself a musician got to that point without first being a fan. It's a fundamental prerequisite. If you're inspired to try and make music yourself, it is inevitably because you've heard music that touched you in some way.
If we buy music records or CDs, we partake of "music as a marketable commodity", as Joe termed it. Are we supposed to feel vaguely dirty about it?
I'm a fan of many widely divergent musicians. I am also a performing and recording musician. There is no disconnect there. And I cannot help but feel repeatedly that much of the griping about commercially successful artists here on Mudcat is sour-grapes jealousy from performers with less appeal.
Eddi Reader is a hugely talented singer with an amazing vocal range and great emotional expression. Her collaborations with Boo Hewerdine have yielded transcendent interpretations of brilliant songs. Her album of Burns songs is widely acclaimed and should give her full folk credentials. Please forgive her for not keeping her hands straight down her sides.