No, Dave, I agree... the 'argument' (discussion?) here was initially about pricing structures in folk clubs.

People who depend upon the existence of folk clubs for a proportion of their income are feeling the pinch as the existence of such clubs continues to dwindle. For this reason a number of highly esteemed performers have had to revert to 'day jobs' to eke out their income.

It's also true that some have done this for different reasons - Steve Turner, for example, just got fed up of touring some 15 or so years ago, and concentrated his efforts on his musical instrument business. Fortunately for us he started touring again, albeit on a smaller scale, a couple of years ago.

However, we have to accept that what suits one person will not suit another. Folk clubs are a fact which cannot be ignored, and will probably continue to exist in some form or other, albeit in smaller numbers.

Perhaps we could substitute the term 'Concert Club' for 'Folk Club' in the context of this thread, as the two are different in many ways.

A concert club (I think!) is typically one where 'residents' do a 'warm up' before the main performer, and 'floor singers' are rarely, if ever, allowed to perform.

A folk club, on the other hand, uses floor singers as the warm-up, and may well not have any designated residents.

A singaround is irrelevant in this context, as a guest artiste would not be booked, but I include the term for the sake of completeness.
(It's quite bizarre that I am actively involved in the running of clubs which fit all three of the above 'categories'... though I must stress that I'm not in any way financially responsible, nor do I have any particular influence in the booking of guests.)
Festivals and other concert venues are typically 'one-off' concerts as opposed to regular venues, and it's highly likely that the 'gap' between the two will continue to widen.

Some performers will rarely be seen in folk clubs, which may or may not be a bad thing - it is insensitive to dismiss something you do not care for just on that basis, as other may care for it a lot.

I don't care for jazz music or jazz clubs, but I accept that others live for such things, and good luck to them!

Perhaps what I have just said would be more appropriately covered in a new thread - or maybe there is already an existing thread on the subject, I dont know.

However, I'm the type of performer who prefers the atmosphere of a 'folk club', or folk club style concert venue... and there are quite a few still thriving.

Some people in this thread, sadly, cannot live and let live, it seems. They would like to deprive people who they disparage from their main source of enjoyment.

If I, as an atheist, were to suggest all churches should be closed, I would rightly expect to have members of those churches taking me to task...

Each to their own...