Last Week, Mark Sachnoff wrote about compulsory licenses and asked:

> Does anyone know how QRS pays its royalties?

QRS pays their mechanical licenses through Harry Fox.  Bob Berkman related
to me that up until several years ago, Harry Fox would also license and
collect the lyric reprint royalties so that QRS could print the words on the
rolls.

I am also a BIG fan of the compulsory licensing provision.  When I wanted to
start Bam-Bam, I figured there was very little chance that I could get
Warner Brothers to grant me a license to publish 20 copies of "Stairway to
Heaven" on player piano roll.  However, through a conversation with Mr.
Roehl at Vestal Press, I learned about the compulsory mechanical licensing
provision and Harry Fox.  That provision requires the publisher to grant a
license to anyone, even us "little guys".

An interesting twist is that the compulsory license only covers sound
recordings.  Printed lyrics are not covered under the compulsory licensing
provision.  And, since Harry Fox won't act as a middleman for lyric reprint
licenses anymore, I am still forced to go to Warner Bros., (or Hal Leonard,
CPP Belwin...) to request the rights to print a license to print 20 copies
of the lyrics to "Stairway to Heaven".  Some will grant a license, others
(most recently, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones) will not.    Also,
although the mechanical rate is set out in the copyright law, the lyric
reprint rate is not set.  So, the publisher can set whatever rate they want
to allow you to print the lyrics.

Bill Jelen