I think it's great there there are now opportunities to study traditional music, at a range of levels, and to obtain tuition from experienced performers as well as academics. My generation mostly had to find out what we could on our own, and teach ourselves to play our instruments in isolation,

Having a degree does not of course guarantee you are a good performer and whether or not these albums sell or the artists get booked will not be because of their academic record. There has been some criticism that these courses lead to a uniformity of style and can breed arrogance, but these faults can be found in others without degrees. Whether these young people succeed as musicians will depend on their skills and personalities, not their degrees.