"As for being so-and-so's kid, obviously it's helpful in any field! And although I don't really take a great deal of notice of the commercial side of the folk scene, it's only recently dawned on me how many of the younger acts were 'raised in the tradition' and are second generation folk artists. While this might look superficially like nepotism,"

That's not really what I meant. "So-and-so" didn't refer to the likes of Martin and Norma, it meant your mate down the local folk club whose kid has been sucking on their bottle of pop and snapping at your ankles at the session since they were toddlers; maybe you even encouraged them, gave them a bit of friendly advice - suddenly, hey presto, they have got a CD out and are getting lots of good bookings and maybe even press attention. The point I was trying to make is that this is much more likely to happen in the folk world, where there isn't a huge divide between professional performers and amateur. The very closeness of the professionals de-mystifies the process of "celebrity" - it doesn't seem quite so unattainable.

Nepotism? As I say, I'm not talking about people whose parents are professional musicians, so they are unlikely to hold much sway in the "industry" (people like Jackie Oates and Jim moray, whose mum and dad ran a folk club I believe; Kate Rusby, whose dad was a sound guy; or the Unthanks, whose dad George is a singer, but not of the level where his name was going to open doors for his daughters).

"But are average folkies 'deluded' in imagining they are equal in talent or ability as successful artists? I'd say I've met a few who are naturally extremely talented and many others who are not so talented. A few might possibly have the *potential* to be at least as good as any of the more successful acts out there that I've come across, but I've not heard them complaining about their lack of breaks"

Unfortunately, I remember a whole thread on Mudcat about exactly this topic, but it's a little while ago now. Perhaps this memory is what informed my observations.