Hey don I have been doing free events at my place for decades. Works fine. That is why the festival people with their high costs events amuse me. If the audience is dedicated to the music then it is mutually supportive and can be free.

Just listened to a great bbc show today radio three on play it again. They discussed how the folk music scene was taken over by the left in the 50 s and 60s and now the folkies are complaining that it is being taken over by the right. The same way it was taken over by the left.

Must find the programme and report back.

Lisa Carthy was interviewed.

her views on nationalism and british folk music and performance.

The trouble with conquering music and dominating it is that the branding process occurs and you turn away all the other side for a while then secondly the music of the party out of power is under played and starts to be lost or is archived which makes the already overworked folklorists work too hard.

We should understand that the process is wasteful and that there must be a way to short circut it.

The answer imho is in managing the nature of the venue. Keeping music music and art and leaving politics to occur only within the music. Then also a conscious effort to encourage, invite bring in the other side as best you can so that music becomes the language of a multi sided debate rather than a genre dominated and conquered by one side or another.

This widening or welcoming appears to have been discarded in the 50s and 60s as one side too control and as it appears perhaps did not too much to invite everyone to the table.

No one knows for sure but as a result of attitudes expressed and re expressed here on mudcat it is evident that possession of the stage is 9 tenths of the law and it has been exercised by those who have used aesthetic forums to play only one side of an issue.

So to get out of the cycle do what you can to avoid any given side from owning the venues and stages. You don't have to but it might just work.

Conrad