Firstly, though no supporter of the Folk Awards as my record on Mudcat shows, I still do not approve of the way Emma Hartley goes about her campaign of casting doubts on the honesty of the Folk Awards. She has one narrow line of argument and she repeats it ad infinitum. She is quoted in this article and the whole thing reads as though Emma has had a strong influence on its construction.

The word "Mafia" is correctly spelled in the original article.

Secondly, let's look in a realistic manner at the current situation for young musicians. I do feel sorry for the young performers who are trying to make their mark, but they really need to look at the overall situation and see why thy are not getting a mass of work.
* The number of gigs available to folk performers has diminished greatly with the years. Not only are there many fewer clubs, but those that there are are booking fewer guests - fortnightly, monthly or whatever.
* The folk scene differs from the pop & rock scene in that the loyalty of the fans to someone they appreciate continues often for decades - so Carthy, Kirkpatrick, Gaughan and all those of their generation are still doing many gigs and will continue to get booked for as long as they want to. This is not an ephemeral scene.
* The best of the young performers do get accepted into the folk scene - and once they have made their mark, they too will continue to work. Nobody gets rich and retires early from performing folk music.
* So why do club organisers like myself book an act each week that will fill their rooms? Because, even though the better performers charge more, there is a much higher chance of covering your costs. Why do we not often take chances on the unknown beginners how ever promising they may be? Because years of experience tells us that us that we are likely to lose money.

No conspiracy to keep anyone out, just the simple facts of life. I listen to and watch many demos, Youtubes, Myspace etc. and it's amazing how many I find unsatistactory, derivative and plain dull. I still feel very sorry for the youngsters struggling to make a mark, but I'm afraid that nobody owes them a living,