"Jim, as you very well know "folk" has acquired two entirely distinct meanings."
I know nothing of the sort Howard
It has a researched definition and it has become meaningless - a convenient label for a small and rapidly diminishing group of people who have decided to make use ofr it
There is massive researched documentation which confirms the first there is not even agreement on what the latter group mean - no documentation, no research.... just a deliberate misuse of the term
Singer with a guitar could mean any pop singer, equally it could be a Spanish traditional singer
His gets more and more ridiculous
The vast number of people in Britain have no idea what folk music means, nor do tey care
Tpo base anything on that level of ignorance or disinterest is a desperate grasping of straws to justify the unjustifiable
I find it sad that anybody should wish to go to such lengths to, in essence, replace an extremely important art form with.... well - nothing really
Sorry - you really are going to have to do better than that
Jim