Asociación Peruana de Autores y Compositores

APDAYC (Asociacion Peruana de Autores y Compositores) is Peru's performing rights organization, founded in 1939 and headquartered in the Miraflores district of Lima. It protects the rights of affiliated authors and composers by licensing public performances of their musical works and distributing the collected royalties. APDAYC also holds the rights to several historic Peruvian record labels including Iempsa, El Virrey, DIN, Disvensa, and Sonoradio.

How APDAYC Works

APDAYC issues blanket licenses to businesses and platforms that play music publicly in Peru, including radio stations, television networks, streaming services, concert venues, restaurants, hotels, and retail establishments. The organization collects licensing fees and distributes them to affiliated composers and publishers based on usage data from broadcast monitoring, live performance reports, and digital streaming data.

Composers register their works with APDAYC by submitting song titles, writer information, publisher details, and ownership splits. Once registered, APDAYC tracks public performances of those works and distributes royalties accordingly. The organization reported approximately 7,800 registered composers as of 2011, with income exceeding 18 million soles domestically and a similar amount from international collections.

As a CISAC member, APDAYC maintains reciprocal agreements with performing rights organizations worldwide. When a Peruvian composer's music is performed in another country, that country's PRO collects the royalties and forwards them to APDAYC for distribution to the composer. The reverse also applies: foreign works performed in Peru generate royalties that APDAYC collects and sends to the respective international PROs.

Real-World Example

A Peruvian composer writes a song that becomes popular on Peruvian radio in 2026. The song receives approximately 500 radio plays per month across major Lima stations, gets added to Spotify editorial playlists generating 200,000 streams from Peruvian users, and is performed live at venues in Lima, Cusco, and Arequipa.

APDAYC collects royalties from the radio stations' broadcasting licenses, from Spotify's streaming license for the Peruvian territory, and from the venues' blanket licenses. The composer receives their share based on the frequency and reach of their song's performances.

If the same song also gets airplay in neighboring countries like Ecuador or Chile, APDAYC's CISAC membership ensures that SAYCE (Ecuador) and SCD (Chile) collect those royalties and forward them to APDAYC. The composer receives both domestic and international royalties through their single APDAYC membership.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you are a Peruvian songwriter or composer, joining APDAYC is the only way to collect performance royalties for your works performed publicly in Peru. The organization holds the rights to significant Peruvian musical catalogs through its ownership of historic labels, which means it has established infrastructure for royalty collection and distribution across the country.

Peruvian creators should understand that APDAYC collects performance royalties only. It does not handle mechanical royalties from physical sales or downloads, and it does not collect neighboring rights for master recording performances on digital radio. You need separate organizations for those revenue streams.

For composers whose music crosses borders, APDAYC's CISAC membership provides access to international royalty collection without requiring memberships in multiple countries. Read our guide on all the music royalties you should be collecting to understand the full spectrum of revenue streams available to you. You can also compare PROs using our PRO comparison guide or browse the full PRO directory.

Territory Covered

APDAYC administers performing rights for musical works within Peru. The organization licenses public performances, broadcasts, streaming, and communication of musical works across the entire Peruvian territory. This includes radio stations, television networks, streaming platforms, concert venues, restaurants, hotels, retail establishments, and digital services accessible in Peru.

How to Join

To affiliate with APDAYC, a composer must have at least one song being commercially distributed. This means the work must be playing on radio, television, streaming platforms, or at public venues. Applicants must submit proof of distribution (streaming links, audio/video recordings, or physical media credits).

Required documents include:

• Active RUC (tax ID) registered in the second category
• Copy of DNI (national ID)
• Passport-size photo
• Bank account information and CCI (interbank account code)

The one-time admission fee is 1/8 of the UIT (Unidad Impositiva Tributaria). For 2025, the UIT is S/ 5,350, making the admission fee S/ 668.75 (approximately $180 USD). Publishers must submit editorial contracts covering at least 50 musical works from at least 10 authors. Sub-publishers must submit sub-publishing contracts.

Applications are submitted through the APDAYC online portal at portal.apdayc.org.pe.

Overhead Rate

APDAYC does not publicly disclose its overhead rate or administrative commission percentage on its website or in its tarifario documents. The organization operates as a non-profit civil association under Peruvian law. Royalties are distributed after deducting administrative costs, but the exact percentage retained is not published in publicly available materials.

Royalty Distribution Schedule

APDAYC distributes royalties quarterly. Payments are organized by trimester (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4). National members receive payments first, followed by publishers, then foreign societies. For example, Q2 2024 royalties were scheduled for payment to national members starting October 18, 2024. Publishers received payments on October 30 and 31. Foreign societies received payments on November 12 and 13.

The distribution order reflects processing time for usage data analysis across different revenue categories (radio, television, digital, live events).

Reciprocal Agreements

APDAYC has been a CISAC member since January 1, 1964 (CISAC Code 7). Through CISAC's reciprocal representation framework, APDAYC maintains bilateral agreements with performing rights organizations worldwide.

When a Peruvian composer's music is performed in another country, that country's PRO collects the royalties and forwards them to APDAYC. The reverse also applies. Foreign works performed in Peru generate royalties that APDAYC collects and sends to the respective international PROs.

Known reciprocal partners include SAYCE (Ecuador), SCD (Chile), SAYCO (Colombia), AGADU (Uruguay), SADAIC (Argentina), SACM (Mexico), and dozens of other CISAC member societies. APDAYC also has agreements with societies outside Latin America, including ASCAP, BMI, PRS for Music, GEMA, SACEM, and JASRAC.

Notable Members

APDAYC's affiliated composers span multiple genres of Peruvian music. Notable members include:

• Jose Escajadillo - President of APDAYC. Composed over 620 valses, songs, military marches, and marineras. Named "Compositor de las Americas" by the OAS in 2014. Received the "Juan Pablo Vizcardo y Guzman" medal from the Congress of Peru in 2003.
• Alvaro Rod - Peruvian singer-songwriter with multiple charting singles.
• Anna Carina Copello - Peruvian pop singer and songwriter.
• Erick Elera - Peruvian actor and recording artist.
• Ezio Oliva - Peruvian tropical music singer and composer.
• Marco Romero - Peruvian composer and performer.
• Pelo D'Ambrosio - Peruvian rock and folk composer from Huanuco. Created hymns for multiple Peruvian cities.
• Rossy War - Peruvian tropical music singer and songwriter known as the "Queen of Andean Cumbia."
• Sonia Morales - Peruvian folk and tropical music composer.
• Manolo Barrios - Peruvian composer with decades-long APDAYC affiliation.
• Jhovan Tomasevich - Peruvian urban music singer-songwriter.

APDAYC vs Other Organizations

Videos

Compare APDAYC with Other PROs

• SADAIC - Argentina's performing rights organization
• SCD - Chile's performing rights society
• SAYCO - Colombia's performing rights organization
• AGADU - Uruguay's authors and composers society
• SACM - Mexico's authors and composers society
• CISAC - International umbrella organization for authors' societies
• SAYCE - Ecuador's performing rights society (if available)

Related Resources

• PRO Directory - Browse performing rights organizations worldwide
• How to Register Music with a PRO - Step-by-step registration guide
• Music Publishing Explained - Complete guide to royalties
• Publishing Royalty Split Calculator - Calculate your splits
• APDAYC Official Website - Register and manage your works