Fair point. I guess I always rationalise that it is unlikely that the folk program recordings would be made available in any fashion other than by someone uploading them. Would the BBC be likely to make them available for a fee? As Will Fly suggests, it could be worth asking.
As for these Columbia recordings, they have been re-released as cds - thought not, I understand, with all of the same material that the lps contained, in some cases.
I am pretty diligent - as, I suspect, are most people on Mudcat -in trying not to pick the pockets of working musicians. I guess some of us just get excited at the prospect of rare recordings being made available. But good to keep all this in mind as we hasten to share the music we love.