Performers as professionals create scarcity by setting themselves apart Scarcity of what? Do you think a performer can simply name a price and the promoter will pay it?

What you consistently fail to understand is that people are prepared to pay money for things they enjoy. They will pay to see good performers because they enjoy their performances - not out of any sense of "preserving the tradition". They won't pay to see poor performers - they may not even go to see them even if it's free.

A friend of mine, a professional musician from the UK, is planning a tour of North America. That means flying there, and flying around when he arrives. His visit is being eagerly discussed on other forums by people who want to attend his concerts and workshops. You seem to think it's a bad thing that he should do this, and a bad thing that people should pay for it.

What you don't understand is that it's a win-win situation - he gets to earn a living doing something he enjoys, and his audiences come away enriched by good music.

People don't need to be protected from spending their own money on things they enjoy. It's up to them to put a price on their own enjoyment. If an event costs too much, they won't go.

Your problem, as has been said before, is that for all your posturing you don't actually value folk music very highly. You don't think it's worth anything. You don't appreciate it, you think it's easy. You make excuses about the cost, but that's nonsense. It's not a question of not being able to afford it - you can afford to drink large quantities of beer and eat large amounts of food and to buy gas for your cars, you just aren't prepared to spend it on folk music. Well that's fine - it's up to you to decide how you spend your money. But don't then expect other people to give it to you for nothing.