How did broadside ballads become part of oral folk traditions?

Broadside ballads became integrated into oral folk traditions primarily through their distribution and performance in public spaces. Following the invention of the printing press, these inexpensive sheets were hawked in streets, marketplaces, and fairs.12

Because these broadsides rarely included musical notation, the balladmongers who sold them would sing the verses aloud to popular tunes, allowing listeners to learn the melodies and lyrics through repetition. This process facilitated the transition of these printed works into the oral tradition. While many broadsides were ephemeral, topical accounts of news or crime, others—such as those concerning national heroes—became perennial favorites that the public adopted and adapted. Consequently, while some broadsides were urban adaptations of existing folk songs, many others originated as printed material that the folk eventually absorbed into their own oral repertoire, sometimes altering the language to be more sentimental or moralizing in the process.12