Conrad, you seem to have a pretty low opinion of people who attend festivals. The volunteers are "stupid", the audiences are "manipulated", now it appears that they are "mindless" too.

Since you seem to believe that the essence of folk music is small, more intimate settings, I am surprised that you would prefer people to make money from these rather than from large events. The reality, which has been pointed out by people from both sides of the pond, is that there are a great many small events, and many of these are free. However there is simply not enough to be made from small venues for most performers to make a living - they need the big festivals as well. So the big festivals are in fact helping to support the smaller venues.

Stop asking other people to fix a problem which they don't recognise exists in the first place. You haven't put forward any coherent arguments to support your case, you just keep repeating unjustified assertions - to me, that's "mindless". If you think the way festivals are run is wrong, then lead by example - demonstrate to us that your ideas not only work, but work better. Otherwise shut up.