Hah!
I’d play Thoroughgood’s “I Drink Alone” all day and send the check straight to him!
There ya go!
The whole arrangement (not Thoroughgood’s tune, but that of fairly collecting and distributing royalties) is a mess. As others have noted, the means to document what is performed, how often, and under what circumstances is enough to make the process wholly unfeasible. I suspect the bigger royalty administrators have a formula of some kind, but it should not be above questioning or appeal, IMO. The key is to objectively measure the amount of revenue received due to cover tunes played, and from there determine how much should go to 1.) the proprietor for his efforts in advertising and promoting the song, 2.) the songwriter for creating the song, and 3.) the agent for collecting and administering royalties. Doubtless there are other fingers that want a piece of the pie.
I don’t know how that would be possible, since we have difficulty understanding what causes us to spend on so much junk in the first place. Did I buy that beer because Thoroughgood’s tune was playing, or because I was thirsty?