Ordinary folk who are competent singers and musicians can get a venue any time they want. If I wished,I could play every night of the week at venues no more than hour's drive away, and all free. Most musicians around the UK could probably say the same. I don't live in a city.

Those who are not competent can't get a venue because they won't attract an audience - they may even drive an audience away. It's not a conspiracy, it's just that people won't waste their time listening to crap - even if it's free.

My point about libraries is nothing to do with advertising, it's about time. I couldn't afford to take several days out of a working week to travel two hundred miles to visit a specialist library in the hope of finding one or two new songs. Professionals do this because they have to - researching or writing new material is part of the job, just as rehearsing, administration and travel are - the public performance is just the tip of the iceberg. It is their work which disseminates new songs.