Timo Alakotila of JPP told me once that they actually have more gigs internationally than in Finland. When a Finnish rock band does a short tour in some foreign country, that is seen as a big event, but to Finnish folk groups that is business as usual. There are many other reasons, including funding from sources like the Finnish cultural ministry or the financial redistributions of ESEK, an organization whose purpose is to take radio and mechanical royalty money and reinvest it in Finnish culture. There are numerous devotees of folk music at the national radio who bring the music of Finland back to the people. Paid staffers and dozens of volunteers have made the Kaustinen Folk Music festival into a million dollar venue without sacrificing the closeness so necessary to the music.
Someone has to sell the music, too, if it is to stay viable and available.
Through his years as the sole proprietor of Olarin Music, he has nurtured the old accordion styles and made recordings possible for the innovative sounds of Niekku, Troka, Maria Kalaniemi, JPP and Anna-Kaisa Liedes. After a long career in the major label end of the music business, he retreated to his own love, the business of making the music of Finland first available at home, and now to the world. Without his dedication, and the similar dedication of a very few small labels, this all would never have happened. Also mentioned often is an American who fell in love with the music and moved to Finland. It is very difficult for a musician to sell their own music, or their own country.