Interesting stuff, Rob. I'd certainly agree with you about the 'passive consumer' thing. My 19-year old son plays drums (when he's home from uni) and my 10-year old daughter plays cello, fiddle, keyboard and anything else she can get her hands on and is an avid folkie who is really enthusistic about the young bands she sees at folk festivals. The 'fringe folk' scene (for want of a better classification) is certainly very vibrant at the moment.