Folk music lives in a parallel universe to the music industry, a genuine alternative, and maybe it's better that way.

The sneers are irritating, but they probably keep some of the pests out of the way. They probably also stop a lot of people who'd like it, and who could contribute, away as well, which is a pity.

But if people find their way into the music at present, it's a fair guess that they are fairly independent minded and at any rate capable of finding their way out of the paper bag of commercial music, so that's a good thing. The last thing we want is people, who don't really like it at all, feeling they have to latch onto it, because it's suddenly fashionable for five minutes.