"160 folk clubs"
My point exactly Dave
There were that many within a driving distance of my home in London at the beginning of the 1990s - and I would guess that would be the case in all the major cities
Taking the examples of what constitutions 'folk song' and add that to what is being argued for here, I would think a quarter of that figure would be a generous guess at how many of those 160 clubs cater for folk song lovers (I know what I mean by folk song - nobody has come up with an alternative yet) You are dinging yourself into a very deep hole here.
There is not enough traditional song on line to even scratch the surface of the riches that have been commented
Where can I 'download' any good traditional material - I can listen to a little
The fact that Terry Yarnell and I can't give away one of the largest and wide-ranging collections of traditional song, music, workshops, articles, films.... of traditional music in private hands says what needs to be said about the current interest in it.
I am talking about traditional and traditional based songs - anybody can write a song in any form and call it folk - the term has become totally meaningless
Most newly written songs cone with a little (c) which confines their use to where the copyright cowboys can't reach
I am concerned about folk song; full stop - you have yet to define what you are talking about
Folk song as an art form, reaches far beyond the DWINDLING clubs - it is what is says it is THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
That is what is being silenced by this apathy and indifference
Both irresponsible and sad
Jim