"Seems the ideal place for such recordings is on-line, as with the Max Hunter Folk Song Collection - freely available to one and all, with complete notes."

Max Hunter is only 'free' because someone else paid to catalogue and digitize the collection, and continues to pay to keep up the site, etc. Given that the site is hosted by Missouri State University, I imagine there is public money involved. Not so much of that around for folk music, I'm afraid. So an online subscription service may be the way forward. It remains to be seen whether smug and feckless 'everything should be free' downloaders will be willing to pay for something they feel is a privilege.