Thank you Eldergirl.

I'm glad the title of this thread uses the word traditional instead of folk. To me, the term folk is somewhat murky. To me, traditional music is something that could not only be described as popular or folk music of an earlier time, but also as the product of a natural process that was radically altered first by publishing and secondly by recording (not to mention all the capitalist endeavors that surround those things).

Now, it's not that publishing, recording and passing the hat don't have their place in the preservation and promotion of traditional music, it's just that it's not a money thing. It's a love thing. Publishing and recording have been a very double edged sword when it comes to music of any kind. And if traditional music should become a money thing, then it becomes something it was never meant to be. I think we can see how money has corrupted in the various revivals. I'll never forget the time I saw Bob Dylan in a Victoria Secret commercial. I was like, "You've got to be kidding me!"