the very word begins to lose clarity. It NEEDS to have a reasonably precise and useful referent

Okay, but what are we left with? Especially when the ICTM states its aims and objectives as it does.

Thing is Folk Music comes into existence only if we're prepared to make the definition less precise - how else do we cover all the possible bases of vernacular / popular music as disparate as the vocal polyphony of Albania to the comedy stylings of Bernard Wrigley to Peter Bellamy's settings of the poems of Rudyard Kipling - all of which might be packaged as Folk? At the same time living musical traditions as diverse as Heavy Metal, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, Classical, and (yes) Folk are operating with a vigour well within the remit of The 1954 Definition.

There are a myriad musics we can call Traditional, and even argue that the very term Traditional Music is an oxymoron simply because music is Traditional by its very nature. Popular / Folk musics are traditional in the same sense as any other music, the difference is simply one of style / genre on one hand, and academic assumption on the other, and then there's a huge matter of ideological faith which is very much a matter of individual belief.

Getting back to the point, I think if every Folkie on the planet was wiped out by some catacylsmic natural disaster then the future of the music might be a bit wobbly, but whilst at 49 I'm still amongst the youngest in the various Folk Clubs I attend, I also find myself amongst the oldest in other thriving folk projects & events I'm presently part of. It's taken a while but it's happening and it's broadening and it's producing great & diverse Folk Music which is all that really matters.