Festivals are not clubs (which I thought this thread was about).
If you see the future of the club scene disapating into festivals - well - we have very different ideas.
The folk revival was launched through the clubs; what success we had came from that fact. A good club drew in local people as audience, singers and dogsbodies, and -if it was outgoing enough, researched and performed local material - you won't get that with festivals. Our roots were in the communities where we ran the clubs - no roots to be had in festivals (unless you want to run them weekly - or monthly, at a stretch).
Hundreds of record labels my arse - performers are putting out their own material under their own logo and at their own expense and distribution, usually as 'vanity publications' - is that what you are referring to? The old performers (the ones we cut our teeth on) would not have had a look in (nor would any other performer for that matter).
The strength of the revival lay totally in a good, welcoming club with good residents (where guests were an option not a necessity). There was never any talk, as there has been on some threads, of not letting some of the lesser experienced local singers performing on a guest night, as has been suggested elsewhere.
"thriving national news stand specialist magazines (none back then)".
Really - did I imagine picking up folk review from my local newsagent (didn't bother with Dallas's Folk News; thought it was rubbish. The rest you could subscibe to or pick up at your local club (rather than wait till next years festival came along).   
"strong web presences (none back then)"
Can't have web presence without a web; whether we have made the best use of what we have is another question which probably needs another thread.
One thing that the clubs did produce was a group of exeptional researchers Vic Gammon, Bob Thomson, George Deacon, Roy Palmer, Peter Hall.... all adding invaluable information and material to our enjoyment and understanding of our music.
I notice that you haven't commented on the fact that the clubs and supporters of the music have reached anorexic proportions, so I presume you accept that point.
As for our media presence - gone, and never called me mother!
I had no intention of getting involved in this thread but the smug complacency finally got to me.
Jim Carroll