Contact a performance rights organization to obtain publisher contact information for the musical composition you want to reproduce. Several organizations, such as the Music Publishers Association, ASCAP and BMI Inc., have websites with publisher information.
Obtain United States Copyright Office information on the "Notice of Intention to Obtain Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords." This notice must include a statement that Copyright Office records have been searched to locate the copyright owner, and whether the owner was found. A separate notice is required for each license.
Complete the notice. Each notice must include the full legal and any fictitious name of the person or entity requesting the license; the person or entity's physical address; whether the business entity is a partnership, limited liability company or corporation; whether the business is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and the names of the officers and each owner that holds more than 25 percent of company securities.
Include the fiscal year that the person or business intends to obtain the license, the title and author names, and all configurations, such as compact disk or cassette. Also required are the date of initial distribution under the license, the name of the recording artist or group that will record the work, the catalog and label name, and the signature of the person or business requesting the license.
Forward the notice to the publisher. On your receipt of the publisher's written agreement, sign it if you agree to the terms, and submit it with payment to cover advance royalties.
Visit a representation website, such as that of the Harry Fox Agency, to request a mechanical license, if you prefer to skip the legwork. Complete one Mechanical License Request form for each song title requested. Include the name, physical address and phone number of the person or company that will be paying the royalties, the exact title of the song, the composer and the publisher's name. Provide information regarding your recording, including the configuration--LP, Cassette, CD--and the product number, the playing time for each song, the release date, the artist for your recording, and the title of the album.
If you have communicated with any publishers about the recording, include the correspondence with the request form. You can complete the form online, or do it manually and mail it to the agency for processing.