Joe, I think that you may have seen a slightly distorted version of things over here in the UK on your recent trip. Quite a lot of UK 'catters tried to get to meet you while you were over. Also the festival scene tends to attract congregations of 'catters - especially
the sessions. Not so many of the folkies who just support their local folk clubs tend to know about Mudcat - especially if they don't actually perform themselves. I'll probably get lots of flack for this, but I'd be very surprised if many people who are just Folk Dancers at local dance clubs would have any interest in the site.

On the other hand, for many singers, especially those who are just starting out and need to build up a repertoire, Mudcat is a godsend.
When people ask me for song lyrics, I often ask them if they're on the net and tell them to try mudcat.org. Only the other day, I found that a couple of Mudcat names were people who joined after I told them about it.