But the tradition does not valorise the unknown author, 1954 suggests that known authorship precludes the music being folk. Where is the appreciation of the skill of songwriting in that?

My single biggest gripe against the definition is its privileging of obscurity over artizan composing. The idea that 'common music' moves beyond the pale for the sole reason of discovering who wrote the original text seems perverse, unless its to validate the collector over the performer.