Meant to foster creativity, the Compulsory Mechanical Licensing Law makes it possible for you to legally record your new version of any existing song, even without the copyright holder's express permission. If you ask a publisher directly, they can demand any fee or reject your request outright. But under Compulsory Law, they cannot reject the license. Even in cases where the copyright holder is highly protective of their work, this law allows small-timers to cover some very popular songs.