I sympathise with Catters who regret that the R2 Folk Awards give a fairly limited (perhaps even distorted?) picture of the current folk scene.   But (as Mr Bliss pointed out) Radio 2 is Show Business. It aims to attract (and hold) mass audiences by offering them lots of easy listening. (Challenging the audience's prejudices and expectations is the job of Radio 3.)

And if mass audiences are what you're after, then competitions - whether genuinely competitive, or stage-managed and scripted – have a proven record. If properly run, they generate a spectacle which appeals to people way beyond the circle of enthusiasts who know (or care) about whatever the competitors are doing.   Some of us may not like the results, but if your job security depends on your channel's audience figures, that's the way to go.

For all that, some of the real stuff still manages to slip past the market-conscious mandarins who dictate the BBC's play-lists, and a lot more is available elsewhere, if you look for it under the radar. The liveliness of this thread makes that point clearly enough.

Wassail!