Bernard's comments above are interesting. I know the type of performer he means. It seems some of them think they have to write their own songs to get anywhere. It's obviously a good thing that some people do write their own songs, or things would just stagnate. But as Bernard says, some of them don't seem to realise most of their songs are just boring to the majority of the audience. You might get one or two good ones if you're lucky, but the rest is sometimes all third rate uninteresting dross.

I'm like Bernard in that I don't write my own songs (although I haven't given up hope entirely on that score!), but I pick songs to perform that I really like (from a variety of sources), and usually I find that works for me and the audience. I do sometimes wonder if I need to write songs, to somehow give myself some sort of credibility as a performer, so it's reassuring to know I'm not the only person who doesn't write their own stuff.

This probably isn't the right thread to discuss this, but I'd be interested to know what others think: do you need to write your own material to be successful in the folk world, or is it possible to do well without writing your own songs?