[John Baumgartne]

This is a grey area, with Karaoke, unless the artist that originally performed the song was also the the writer of the music score or the Lyrics He/She is not entitled to any royalties. However if the artist was one of the Writers then they get paid royalties for all recreations, and performances. This means even if you use the music score but not the lyrics both the writers of the music and the lyrics gets paid because it is considered a composition one with the other.

If recreate the Karaoke Songs from sheet music that you purchased on your own instruments but don't have plans of mass producing them then I believe that your only responsibility would be to the performance royalties if used in Public Performances. If these recreations are for your own personal usage (personal and not performed publically) then no laws have been broken because you paid for the use of the music when you purchased the sheet music. This is the way I understand it however if you do plan to mass produce the cd's or play them in public then I would consult a lawyer that is well versed in Music Law.