Black Hawk: If your friends are PRS members, in theory you should report your CD "production run" to PRS, though if it's not a pressing and in small quantities then PRS probably wouldn't be interested.

If the songwriters are not PRS members, they have no organised body to protect their copyright, which is their problem, but if you want to do some sort of deal with them to pay them for the use of their songs you can draw up any prices and terms you like. (I would advise the writers not to assign you copyright though!).

"Bypassing" PRS isn't illegal, but if your songwriters aren't members they might regret it if their songs become popular enough to get performed at PRS licensed venues such as any folk festival

It's a good idea to make sure they are credited with the songs, and to state that your songwriting friends own the copyright, so if anybody takes one of your CDs and duplicates them for sale you can demonstrate that they knew they were breaking copyright.

There isn't really a "going rate"; it's whatever you negotiate with them.

Anahata