I think Terry summed it up nicely, but I'll try to give you as much info as I can (or am allowed to) since i work for a very large library company that does specifically what you are trying to do...
The reason you haven't been able to get any information is because it varies greatly and is negotiable. Most places that only use needle drop licensing always haggle over price.
The range will vary anywhere from $100~$1000 or $2000 at the most. Now this is for "Non-Featured" library/catalog music.
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Let's say it's a :30 spot for a dry cleaners in a small market in Ohio. The song runs 20 seconds of the spot and it's going to run 10 times (Once for AM Drive Once for PM Drive) Mon - Fri.. What's a reasonable charge (not the cheapest not the most expensive - I'm looking for dead center pricing)?
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How many times it will air usually doesn't come into play in determining how much the licensing fee will be, since the library company will also make publishing royalties. If someone does try to factor that in it usually hurts you. The more it airs, the less the licensing fee (since you'll make more from royalties off it airing). Try to stay away from going down that pitfall if at all possible. Any experienced music supervisor or producer will probably eat you for lunch if you start down that road. Usually the licensing fee is based on area (local, regional, national, international) and what channel/station it is on. (i.e. NBC has a lot more viewers than the discovery times channel.) It's all about how many viewers, not how many spins/airings.
I know we have different rate cards for different industries and for different types of use within those industries as well. There is just so many it's hard to even start somewhere...
We have rates for DVD menus and video games and it's based on how many units are expected to ship...and then if they sell more they have to re-license the music.
We have rates for websites that are streaming background music based on how many hits they average every month.
With Radio stations we've been doing barter more than licensing.
Like I said it's really hard to even give you a quote for some of your specific examples because for one BMW commercial you might get $200, another you might get $1500. It is really just what the client's budget can afford, where the commercial will air, how they plan on using your music, and your negotiating skills.
Sometimes the licensing fees are for the life of the commercial. Other times it's licensed for a set amount of time. The normal life of one national TV commercial is 13 weeks. I believe (but could be wrong) you buy ad time on the stations/channels in 13 week chunks and this is why commercials usually airs for 13 weeks at a time. So, you can say $300 for the first 13 weeks and then they have to renew with you if they decide to air the commercial for another 13 weeks. Or you might charge a flat fee for the life of the commercial. $500 will let the local cleaner's use your music in their local TV spot for the next 20 years.
Also, the way in which the song gets used dictates how much you can charge, and also how much you get paid from ASCAP and BMI. A non-featured use is probably the lowest. There is constant dialog and the music is mixed very low in the background. If it's used as a jingle instead of non-featured, the music is louder and carries the commercial (think of a 60's lounge style song for a laundry detergent commercial or a dramatic orchestral cue for a video game commercial). You then have featured uses, which are usually more for artist-driven material but can occasionally happen for a library. This is where your track is featured, mixed upfront with no dialog over it. I think it has to last at least 10 seconds to be considered "featured" but I could be wrong. Check with ASCAP/BMI about that. Anyway, all these things change the price, but everything is negotiable. You might get one ad agency that tries to license a cue as a jingle use for $200 in a national ad campaign and says "well, we don't have a big budget, but you'll make tens of thousands from the performance royalties!" ...
It's all negotiable. Everything. All of it. Every penny. Every angle. Negotiable. Period.
Now one other thing you mentioned, redoing pop songs for commercials. That's a totally different ball game and if you are trying to promote yourself as a library it will be hard for you to get that kind of work. Jingle houses usually get that work. And like Terry said, the publisher of the original track has to approve the use and get paid, then you would charge a nominal fee for the re-recording of that song. Unfortunately there really isn't a ton of money in doing this kind of thing, unless you were the original composer of the hit song! HAHA!
One other suggestion I can offer...Join PMA (Production Music Assoc.). the website is
www.pmamusic.com. They can answer a lot of these questions for you and regularly have seminars and workshops about these topics (and much more).
Good luck!
-Derek
