Naturally, 'folk music', as a subject of study, was defined by the people who studied it. The people who sang it were mostly quite uninterested in what it was called; though, as Jim Carroll has explained elsewhere, some did make a clear distinction between the old and new items in their repertoires, generally giving a higher value to those they considered older (and, it should be said, frequently expressing pleasure that 'collectors' showed an interest in them, as their own children did not).

In what way is this a problem?