IanC,
I agree with your point about folk not being just the "visible" (in the media) part, that is just the tip. I was referring to the "star" names in the sense of their having a following, which will hopefully get together in some sort of organised fashion (clubs?), at some sort of venue (anything goes here) to emulate their "idols". I should have explained better.

Will it happen as I predict? Er...dunno really, but I am basing my optimism on the existence of future "stars" for others to follow.

On the point that revivals happen on the back of traditional musicians: Mmm, not sure about that being always the case. In the US for example, much of the revival was led by non-traditional singers and songwriters. In the UK the pattern seems to be as you state. I am not sure that it always HAS to be so, but I think that the majority of the "star" names I mentioned above belong in the category of "traditional practices" musicians, so the chance is there...

The advent of the Internet, more than anything else, has sent thousands (millions?) of people searching their past, their history, cultures, exchanging knowledge etc. Nowadays we are all much more aware of the world and its traditional music. I think this renewed interest will still be there, and it will help the music carry on.

Commercialism might provide some nails for the coffin of the traditional "folk process". But we are seeing the breakdown of the old stranglehold by the record companies, as downloading of music opens the floodgates. (What that will do to copyright and future songwriting incentives is anybody's guess, of course; it may be that the professional songwriter has a limited lifespan now and we might end up going to the pre-commercial days of people writing their songs for the heck of it, just because they want to communicate that way). Whether or not songwriters and copyright become victims of the opening of the Internet Pandora's box, however, I think the music itself will thrive.

What I cannot predict at all is the format to which today's club-and-concert will mutate. I think many of us who have become fans of the participatory club format through the last 40 years are scared of their demise (and I count myself in that group). To counter that, I only have my belief that people are social animals and they will want to share their music with each other - despite all that commercialism and the media have been doing to drive us to passive entertainment (or perhaps as a reaction to that).

It may not be the "folk scene as we know it, Jim". I just wish I could hang around to find out...