So, here's one for us to consider - artists like Bela Fleck and The Grateful Dead have gained thousands of fans over the years from the (free) circulating of live concert recordings. It has been proven that these new fans then buy concert tickets, CDs, etc.

I find that I enjoy many of my favorite folk performers best in the live setting because you get their stories about the songs along with little pieces of their personality and a fresh performance of their material. If I had a live concert recording of some of these folks, I'd surely pass it along - I think more readily than a studio album - to friends who I thought might enjoy them, or "get it".    Good for the artist, and folk music in general? I say yes.