putting my head above the parapet.

Surely the buying of CDs LPs etc etc is what folks do. ie Folk.
The contents of those media are commercial fare. Some of it even popular.

Singers & musicians in pubs and at folk festival sessions & SAR are Folk.
Headline acts are entertainment.

If someone selling says it is Folk - it probably ain't.
If the Folks in the pub are singing they mostly ain't calling it Folk they is filling their hearts, they is singing!

Folk is what Folk does. Light bulb jokes are Folk, because there is not much commercial value in it and thereby is an oral tradition. And given it has gone out of fashion, by and large, adds more credence to my (most earnest) assertion.

Is Music Hall (Burlesque) Folk? Now it is not part of "Popular" culture but is part of what can be heard in Folk Clubs - probably.

Whatever we do here, please don't ask an estate agent (realtor) or marketing guy for a definition.

Q. How many Folkies does it take to change Folk?



A. At least one generation, probably 2.