Great post Will. In principle you are fighting bent "business" with honest business. This is the way to fight back.
The SOH business model is fascinating. I know Diane has described them here as playing "dodgy eighties pub rock", but even if one accepts that unkind description, the business strategy has been brilliant. Phil would no doubt have been able to continue playing sessions and gigging with the few top folk/bands, who could still pull an audience. However, with the folk club scene of the sixties and seventies on its last legs, there was no real perspective for SOH to be able to get enough work to survive.
Their answer was to build up a new following in pubs where the old fashioned folk clubs were not established. By persistently building up their gigs there, they created their own scene and a following. By working on the principle that the pubs must not lose money on their gigs, they were always welcome back. This meant that after a couple of gigs in any one place, both they and the pub were making money. It was not just honest business - which effectively means making money together - but it was realistic long term strategy. They have worked long and hard for their success. Like or dislike their music, they have earned it too. It's a good example of how to go about it: Years of hard work, adaptability and a sustainable business model.