I second what Barry Finn has said. The fees are now excessive for runs of a 1000, generally on the order of $80 US. No one gets rich writing songs for traditional style performers but it's the right thing to do to acknowledge, and pay, for songs that someone has created, or adapted for singing.

Running under the radar only works if you prefer to think of yourself as a pirate, or if you're too lazy to try to contact the composer. Shit sticks to lazy people. It's better to make a good faith effort to credit as many people as you possibly can.

Charley Noble