I had it explained to me by one of the UK's top (and, as it happens, award-winning) acts.

According to them, the UK folk industry is run by a small informal 'cartel' of broadcasters, promoters, magazines, record companies and agents. (The majority are too small to get a look-in).

In order to secure the percentages that they require to run their businesses (and their cars), the cartel needs to make sure that there are just enough successful (and by that they mean successful beyond habitual folk consumers) folk acts to keep the market churning. Too many artists and they'd be splitting a, for the moment anyway, finite market, too few and they'd not be shifting enough units.

The Awards are one of the key ways they manage this.

Now, this may be pure bunkum - but a lot of people believe it.