Jim wrote :-
In the main, people fave (presumably 'have') never really been interested in what 'the folk' think about their songs and stories

I declare my resistance to enter the debate because I feel a sense of the beginning of this thread returning to the hoary repetitious statements from entrenched positions that we have heard many times before.
However, I would like to ask politely of Jim these questions:-

* Who are 'the folk' or 'ordinary' people that he has mentioned in his recent posts?
* Since we have been talking about definitions, is there a recognised way of deciding who are 'the folk' and who is an 'ordinary' person?
* What methods have been used to ensure that these terms are meaningful?
* What qualifications does a person need to decide who are 'the folk' and who is 'ordinary'?

It may be that you are talking generally but your decision to mark them with inverted commas suggests something more specific. If you could help us with these, I'm sure that it would bring clarity to the debate and help us to progress the discussion.