As a Serious Paid Muso , ex Folk Club Organiser and regular Floor singer at any local club I can get to I think I am entitled to my Twopennorth.

Firstly , as a Club Organiser (never been paid for doing it) you are
dependant on whoever turns up to fill the time that the guest artist
is NOT doing. This can often mean putting on floor singers who are
not particularly good,But without them would the club survive as a
financially viable entity?

I have never come across any club which offered any inducement to singers (other than,in the old days,reduced admission) so they are all volunteers offering their services.

As a Gigging Muso I do a lot of Non Folk Club work,but do the occasional Club Booking and am often Well Impressed at the standard of Floor singers though some clubs are better than others in this respect.

Also,some clubs are better run than others some more welcoming than others,and some dont deserve the audience support that they DO get.

Just bear in mind that one of the VERY few places a budding muso can
get any kind of exposure these days is in folk clubs - Unless the said muso is in a position to PAY to PLAY,which is the state of affairs in most NON folk venues.

In UK we are fortunate in that there are a lot of places for a folkie to go, and I have no experiance of the scene in Australia,but agree
with the suggestion to 666 that if he/she thinks its so easy,then go
and start your own club and see what it really like,trying to keep all those disparate egos happy.