I paid for one license through Harry Fox for our ShoreGrass In Connecticut CD. Their rate is the statutory amount, so you would pay the same amount going through a publisher - which I did for another song on the CD. I also sent the statutory rate directly to a friend for songs used by permission.

We recorded for the same reasons as you, but stuck to mostly original and public domain songs to keep the costs down. I personally didn't want to worry about licensing and copyright issues and using someone's music without paying the royalty, so I just paid it and forgot about it. You'll hopefully get it back when you sell your CDs.