Actually there are two "Folk Musics". One is the music of the show business public persona of the folksinger whose concerts are attended by officianados and requires a separate bin in the record stores or online to define this type of performance.

The other is songs and music that stand the test of time that reflect a cultural background.

I don't see why the two can't coexist comfortably as long as one type of folksinger respects the output of the other.

This thread is more academic wrangling that ultimately goes nowhere because the "folk" will decide what "folk music" is and not some gray-bearded semanticist.

It doesn't matter really what you call it. The audience will decide.

Frank Hamilton