"Another load of cobblers from the BBC" - great slogan, that man. I'm not here to question the BBC's commitment to folk - there's a time and a place for that. What I would say is that I speak as a member of a band (Malinky) who have been nominated for an award - Best Original Song. I don't expect us to win, but as we have been working hard for more than 4 years as a serious minded band the very fact that we have been nominated for one of these awards gives us a great deal of pleasure. It means we are doing something right and heading in the right direction. Obviously these award thingies are hugely subjective (who really IS the best folk singer, hmm?) and we're not going to the awards as a big name band, so even if we don't win, the very nomination is the important thing for us. This is definitely one of those times when the important thing is participation, not the winning. I reckon different people will attach different levels of importance to the whole thing, depending on their outlook. Doubtless some of the nominees will be bothered by not winning, while some of the winners won't be too bothered about winning. As far as people who buy albums (and contribute to chat fora like this) go, some will think it's great, others will think it's a "load of cobblers". We'll have fun, regardless.
m.d.