"Jim, do you not think that saying some top folk musicians are only in it for the money or are pop star wannabes is somewhat insulting to both those musicians and their fans?"
Where have I said that Dave ?
The only people who make money out of music of any form to any great degree are the interpreters
Even the pop-star wannabes take second place to them and appear to seek attention rather than money - there can be little doubt that his is how some aspects of folk are being sold - name and fame
What I actually said is that the scene I was part of was run by non-professional grass-rooters who gave their time and effort for the music without expecting payment
Nothing wrong with being paid, but it should never dominate and run the scene
Shortly after we moved here, Irish Television put on a programme entitled "Has Irish Traditional Music Sold Out?"
One of the greatest musicians on the scene, Paddy Glackin, put it in a nutshell - "very few solo performers can get anywhere on today's scene without joining a group" - in other words, the employer called the shots.
Paddy, his brother Kevin, and many other top musicians worked their balls off to change that situation and succeeded in creating a scene based on love of the music rather than providing careers - many youngsters, including members of Paddy's and Kevin's own families hve benefited from that work and are now contributing to it
Kevin Glackin's daughter is both a fine fiddle player and a good singer - we saw her perform last year.

Having said that, I was at a Loughborough National Folk Festival talk many years ago where one of the leading folk rock stars of the day, Bob Pegg, was asked why they did what they did - his reply was, "For the money"
Birmingham folk journalist and activist, Trevor Fisher wrote an excellent pamphlet based on Pegg's statement entitled, 'We're Only in it For the Money" - let you have a copy if you're interested

If you are suggesting that anybody has left this forum because Folk Music is discussed critically my reaction is, perhaps they should never have been here in the first place
No creative activity put on for public consumption should ever be considered above criticism   
I have no knowledge of the performer you named but I' prepared to take your word for it if you say he considers himself above criticism
You have suggested before now that I shouldn't post here if I don't like what's happening in the clubs
Sounds like an attempt to create an exclusive club of self-congratulatory backslappers to me
Shame on you
Jim