Why do people in far away countries NEED to hear your music?
Nothing wrong with it but not a requirement.

I am promoting a plan but it is not a BUSINESS plan. It is a plan to do without business as much as possible.

I am not advocating that you give away anything. I would consider selling cds to be private rather than public.

I would say that you have the best chance in business to perform locally for free wherever you can. Read the articles on bands providing free downloads, a very popular model these day, to open up their market.

I have several day jobs! Again nothing wrong with working but the domination of venues by greedy professionals and others in the festival food chain should stop.

Volunteers are being used to make money. Enough said. No other industry practices such abuse. Folk musicians should come clean and either share proceeds no matter how small or stop using volunteers.

Easy! Just go to an all volunteer folk world.

Barn raisings. Look into the very successful custom.

We have to trust the tradition to grow which it cant do until we peel off all the capitalistic accretions which are keeping it limited.

Yes there are people who can not find the money to attend. Why keep them from the music?

Cultural grants too are particularly stupid. I keep hearing that pro bands who are in music for a business get state and local grants. Somehow its always a well known professional performer getting the subsidized concert assistance.

Folks this money is taken from funds needed drastically these days by the unemployed, homeless and needy. I am seeing it go to bands made up of musicians all of whom have excellent well paying day jobs! Often they aren't playing folk music at all but rather their own contemporary compositions.

Conrad