A lot of people tried your method and didn't go back - hence the steep decline in attendances

I don't know about that. I think what's good for the clubs may not be the same as what's good for the music. Earlier on today I wrote about a club that's packing them in, has a huge roster of regular performers, and where it's considered perfectly normal to sing from a cribsheet or a songbook. If anything, I think this is one of the things people like about the club - they like to feel that anyone can have a go. It's certainly doing something right.

The trouble is, letting everyone have a go has become the main business of the club - it's certainly more important than providing a space for good performances of traditional music.