Frank,

With very rare exceptions, most record companies do all they can to avoid labelling singer-songwriters as "folksingers." Commercially, the "folksinger" label does not sell records.

Your theory about copyrights also doesn't hold up. Most traditional songs are recopyrighted each time they're recorded. Run a traditional song through the BMI or ASCAP data bases and you'll find that some have been "written" dozens and dozens of times.

As others have pointed out, there are many songwriters whose work is deeply rooted in traditional music. Other singer-songwriters are often called "folksingers" when their performing careers are on what is known as the "folk" circuit: clubs, coffeehouses, festivals, etc.; or because they play and perform in an acoustic vein that has been identified, over the past 40+ years, as "folk."

Mike Regenstreif