Which is better? Folk music hidden away in the back rooms of shabby pubs sung by and to a decreasing and ageing audience of revivalists largely out of touch with popular culture, or the chance - however small - that the tiny array of great talent on show an annual event like this may snare just a few people from the wider public into discovering and listening to lots more. If you don't open the door a fraction and shine some light inside, it may all wither.

And do you really begrudge the artists who spend their lives dedicated to this music a little chance to make the difference between keeping on and giving up? It's all very well for the legions of comfy middle class school teachers & civil servants to enjoy their little bit of folk fun once a week padded by their salaries, pensions and foreign holidays. What about the (folk) workers?

The importance is not who wins or get the breaks/exposure - it's that SOMEBODY does, which then helps the music and all the rest of us. A little bit of a star system is a small sacrifice to make in order to help this great music thrive.