You can now get food in most UK pubs. However they don't provide it as a service - usually it's their main money-spinner as income from drinks has to be shared with the company which owns the pub. Nevertheless, some pubs do sometimes give sandwiches to the musicians - but this is by no means widespread.

However my comments were referring to earlier times when the "tradition" was still alive. Likewise, I was referring to the nineteenth century temperance movement, not to drinking habits today.

I agree it's hard to avoid drinking beer in a bar, but there's really no obligation on you to eat their fries. If their fries are too expensive, eat elsewhere beforehand.

UK folk clubs generally charge for admission, but they do not as a rule provide food (folk clubs are not run by the pub landlord but by enthusiasts who hire a room). Just occasionally there might be food for a special occasion, and sometimes there may be food at a dance. I do not believe that the BBC would give pub food prices, not just because of their strict rules against advertising but because the programmes have very limited time and would not waste it on such trivia. However if food were included as part of the ticket price then it might get mentioned.

Competition works in a more complicated way than just price - quality pays a part too. A successful venue has to be suitable for music, and a number of factors play a part, including the shape of the room, the nature of the seating, and the room's acoustics. Hard though you might find it to believe, for most people the price of beer doesn't really come into it, although the quality might. There are many venues, expensive ones as well as cheap ones, which are unsuitable for music for various reasons. Yes, musicians can gather in "great wonderful cheap places", but the thing that get them there is that they're wonderful, not that they're cheap.

Face it Conrad, people aren't going to relocate their successful folk evenings just because you don't like the price of the beer. If you can find a "great wonderful cheap place" which is suitable for music and where musicians would be made welcome, then there's nothing stopping you from getting some musicians along there yourself.