And thereby made it available to thousands of people who would otherwise never have heard folk music. How is taking folk music out of clique driven dingy back rooms and giving it to the masses a bad thing?"Dave   folkmusic is not in clquey dingy rooms, you make sweeping generalisations which insult many organisers.
the last four clubs i have played at in the last few weeks, two were in rooms that were previously churches one was in a pub noit a back room and the other was a well lit well decorated upstairs room of a pub.
Dave your comment actually displays your ignorance of many folk club venues. Dave you favour the commercilisation of folk music and giving it to the masses , unfortunately sometimes by doing this the music becomes bowdlerised and sanatised.. witness Cecil sharp , and in the case of folk rock sometimes beyond recognition