During the 60's access to folk was vinyl radio, tv and for a few reel to reel. Many contemporary folk artists were around then and the genre had huge exposure on radio and tv compared to today. The medium consisted of artist/e audience with some floor singers, depending on venue. Julie Felix, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez etc etc. they all performed and the audience was passive. Interaction was maybe the odd chorus and polite applause. There were no hoary hands of the soil hiding in the bogs making transcripts and changing verses wholesale to tell the world about how their bright red combine harvester threw a wobbler halfway thru harvest. The dynamics of traditional folk no longer existed in the folk clubs. The artist performed, the audience watched and listened. End of. I would argue that as the electronic mediums have expanded the need for attending folk clubs has shrunk. From cassette players to walkmans, to mp3s and the internet vastly more material is available for instant download and fairly extensive research can be carried out online for those that have an interest. I wonder to what extent sessions have replaced traditional folk clubs?