One of the upsides of music sharing is that young people are exploring a far wider range of music than used to be the case and their interests may include folk as well as a lot of other things. When I was younger most people's listening habits seemed far more polarised (apart from a few enthusiasts), so far as I can recall. So youngsters today seem to be far more open to folk music, without necessarily becoming folkies but also judging it on its merits without "finger in the ear" prejudices.

Secondly, there are a lot of young people playing the music, and not just those on the Newcastle course. I sometimes visit a session in Manchester which has a lot of students from the university.

Thirdly, a lot of the young musicians are doing some very exciting things with the music, and a lot of it is based on traditional material. Not all of it is to my taste, but that's not the point. They're using folk to make some very exciting music.

It will always be a niche genre, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing if it allows us to keep more control over the music we play and listen to.