There is even a problem with the niche markets and the labels that will exclude music that is valuable or to some degree unpopular with the niche. This formerly had to do with the problem of distribution. Most folk acts rely on CD sales as merchandise at the concerts. This means
that unless you concertize as part of the "folk music business" you as an artist may not be heard. The business of concertizing excludes talented people.

It is my contention that the survival of folk music (whatever definition you give it) depends on
cultivating the interest by participation. People need to feel a part of the music by taking up instrument, voice or both. In so doing they can study folk music on a personal level. They don't need to be professional. These are the people that will become audiences for concerts.

You might say that folk music blurs the line between performer and audience. Singarounds and jam sessions will aid in the discovery and the life of folk music. Songwriting will also. A song at one time in its inception was written/composed. It may have gone into aural transmission where Anonymous was the author/composer. But it was not monetized.

There is the Capitalist myth that every consumption of a product must be monetized to be valued. If this were the case, folk music wouldn't have survived. I still think professional performers should be equitably paid for their efforts but unless there is a sub-structure of interest by people who are personally invested as participants in the music, the professionals
will not succeed.

There is another factor. One person's boredom is anothers enthusiasm. Many find old time traditional ballad singers who offer twenty verses to a song boring. Not me. I think another
set of ears has to be worn to appreciate music that is unfamiliar.

Personally I find video games to be boring and that seems to be more important to many young people than taking up music.

Folk music implies participation of it on a personal level. It's accessible to all who want it. It is denounced by some as boring, simplistic or "there's no money in it". This view is short-sighted and ignorant.

The struggle is not whether folk music sells or creates an audience. The struggle is one of value. Do we value our musical heritage or accept the trash the media and the industry gives us? The answer lies in how much we want to be a part of the music. And not just on a professional level.