ECAD

What ECAD does

ECAD (Escritório Central de Arrecadação e Distribuição) is a Brazilian non-profit civil association founded in 1977 and headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, operating as the sole government-authorized entity for collecting and distributing public performance music royalties in Brazil under Lei 9.610/98 and Lei 12.853/13, supervised by the Ministry of Culture. The organization is jointly administered by seven collective management associations (Abramus, Amar, Assim, Sbacem, Sicam, Socinpro, and UBC) representing composers, performers, musicians, editors, and phonographic producers. ECAD maintains one of Latin America's largest music databases—24 million musical works, 24 million sound recordings, and 396,000 audiovisual works—cross-referenced via proprietary radio monitoring software and an Ibope-certified sampling methodology with a 0.1% margin of error.

ECAD's core product portfolio includes the Canal do Usuário (a self-service portal for music users to submit programming and manage payments), Ecadnet (a repertoire database portal), Ecadtec Rádio (automated radio music capture and identification), the Simulador de Cálculo (online royalty estimation tool), and Mila (a 24/7 AI-powered chatbot deployed on WhatsApp and social channels). Revenue mechanics operate on a fixed statutory split: 85% of collected royalties go to rights holders, 6% to the administering associations, and 9% to ECAD for operations. Distribution cadence includes monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual cycles, with 2025 marking record distribution of R$1.7 billion to 345,000+ beneficiaries.

ECAD's go-to-market combines a nationwide physical sales network (21 proprietary units plus 9 accredited agencies) conducting field-based licensing and compliance enforcement with growing digital self-service channels. The 2025 collection base of R$2.1 billion is segmented across digital services (33.6%), shows and events, broadcasting, and commercial establishments, with year-over-year growth of 15% in collection and 10% in distribution. The organization is pursuing regulatory expansion into emerging categories such as AI-generated music royalties and state-level licensing mandates.

Name

ECAD

Legal name

Escritório Central de Arrecadação e Distribuição (ECAD)

Website

https://ecad.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ECAD is Brazil's sole government-authorized non-profit entity that centralizes the collection and distribution of public performance music royalties under federal copyright law, serving 345,000+ rights holders and collecting from broadcasters, streaming platforms, event promoters, and commercial establishments nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Music Rights Management

NAICS

Music Publishers (51223)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) & Public Performance Licensing (MPAIAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD), Publishing Administration (Catalog Admin, Global Subpublishing) (MPAIABAB), Royalty Auditing, Compliance & Anti-Piracy/Enforcement (MPAIAKAE)

Keywords

• Music royalty collection
• Collective rights management
• Public performance licensing
• Royalty distribution services
• Copyright collection agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Rio De Janeiro

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Performance Royalty Collection: ECAD collects public performance royalties from all businesses and entities that use music publicly in Brazil, including radio/TV broadcasters, event promoters, streaming platforms, commercial establishments, cinemas, gyms, hotels, and governments. The collection is mandated by Brazilian copyright law (Lei 9.610/98). Revenue is distributed as follows: 85% to rights holders, 6% to collective management associations, 9% to ECAD for operations.
2. Digital Services Segment Royalties: Collection from streaming platforms and digital music services, representing 33.6% of total collection in 2025. This is a growing segment driven by the expansion of audio and video streaming in Brazil.
3. Event Royalties: Collection from concerts, shows, and special events (Carnival, June festivals, New Year's celebrations). Special event campaigns showed average growth of 30% in 2025 compared to 2024.
4. Broadcasting Royalties: Collection from radio and television broadcasters for public performance of musical works.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ECAD (Escritório Central de Arrecadação e Distribuição) is Brazil's centralized copyright collection and distribution office for public performance rights, collecting royalties from any entity that publicly uses music — including radio/TV broadcasters, streaming platforms, event promoters, bars, restaurants, hotels, gyms, cinemas and governments — and distributing 85% of the amounts to composers, performers, musicians, editors and phonographic producers. The collection is mandated by Brazilian copyright law (Lei 9.610/98), and ECAD maintains one of Latin America's largest music databases, supported by 21 proprietary regional units and 9 accredited agencies across Brazil.

Product overview

ECAD (Escritório Central de Arrecadação e Distribuição) operates as a collective copyright management platform administered by seven Brazilian music associations (Abramus, Amar, Assim, Sbacem, Sicam, Socinpro, and UBC). The core platform encompasses two main services: Arrecadação (copyright collection) from music users across all public performance channels, and Distribuição (royalty distribution) to rights holders. The product portfolio includes the Canal do Usuário (user portal for programming submission and payment management), the Ecadnet database portal (for repertoire search and rights holder identification), the Ecadtec Rádio system (for automatic radio music monitoring), the Simulador de Cálculo (copyright payment estimator), and the Mila virtual chatbot (for customer service). ECAD's database contains 24 million musical works, 24 million phonograms, and 396,000 audiovisual works, making it one of the largest music databases in Latin America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arrecadação (Public Performance Royalty Collection) End-to-end collection of public performance copyright royalties from any Brazilian entity that publicly uses music, including radio and TV broadcasters, streaming platforms, event promoters, bars, restaurants, cinemas, hotels, gyms and governments. Invoicing, field identification and bank-slip issuance are managed centrally with the support of 21 proprietary regional units and 9 accredited agencies.
• Distribuição (Royalty Distribution) Allocates collected copyright royalties to rightsholders following ECAD's mandate: 85% to composers, performers, musicians, editors and phonographic producers; 6% to the administering collective management associations; and 9% retained by ECAD for operations. Distributions operate on monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual cycles.
• Canal do Usuário (User Channel Portal) Self-service web portal where registered music users log in to submit monthly programming schedules and reports, view historical programming, generate duplicate ECAD bank slips (boletos) for copyright payments, and locate the nearest ECAD office or authorized representative.
• Ecadnet (Repertoire Database Portal) Public database portal indexing 24 million musical works, 24 million phonograms and 396,000 audiovisual works, allowing users to search for rights holders, verify repertoires and find music ownership information.
• Simulador de Cálculo (Calculation Simulator) Online calculation simulator that estimates the copyright payment value owed by a business or event organizer, taking into account business type, event characteristics, sonorized area and other variables feeding the UDA-based pricing model.
• Mila (Virtual Customer Service Assistant) AI-powered virtual assistant chatbot available 24/7 via WhatsApp at (21) 3506-8888, on the ECAD website, and on Facebook and Instagram. Handles copyright inquiries, payment guidance, pre-registration for copyright payments and general information about ECAD.
• Ecadtec Rádio (Radio Monitoring Service) Proprietary radio monitoring service that uses automatic capture, recording and identification software to track musical executions on radio stations, enabling accurate copyright attribution and royalty distribution for broadcasters.
• Envio de Programação Musical (Music Programming Submission) Online service for music users to upload and submit their monthly music playlists and programming schedules, providing the input data ECAD uses to track music use and calculate royalty distributions.
• 2ª Via de Boleto (Duplicate Bank Slip Service) Service that issues duplicate ECAD bank slips (boletos) for copyright payments through the Canal do Usuário, including encrypted copies for the gym segment.

Quantifiable outcome

• R$ 1.7 billion distributed in 2025, the highest amount ever for Brazilian and foreign artists
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Abramus (Associação Brasileira de Música e Artes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of seven collective management associations that jointly administer ECAD. Abramus represents composers, authors, and music artists, and participates in defining collection and distribution rules through General Assemblies.
• Amar (Associação de Músicos, Arranjadores e Regentes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of seven collective management associations administering ECAD. Represents musicians, arrangers, and conductors, contributing to the collective management of public performance rights.
• Assim (Associação de Intérpretes e Músicos)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of seven collective management associations administering ECAD. Represents performers and musicians in the collective management system.
• Sbacem (Sociedade Brasileira de Autores, Compositores e Escritores de Música)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of seven collective management associations administering ECAD. Represents Brazilian music authors, composers, and writers.
• Sicam (Sociedade Independente de Compositores e Autores Musicais)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of seven collective management associations administering ECAD. Represents independent music composers and authors.
• Socinpro (Sociedade Brasileira de Administração e Proteção de Direitos Intelectuais)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of seven collective management associations administering ECAD. Specializes in intellectual property rights administration and protection.
• UBC (União Brasileira de Compositores)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of seven collective management associations administering ECAD. One of the oldest collective management organizations in Brazil, representing Brazilian composers.
• United Nations Global CompactminorOthersECAD joined the UN Global Compact in 2023 and published its first Sustainability Report, advancing its Environmental, Social, and Governance agenda.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PRS for Music: UK's Performing Right Society is one of the world's most prominent PROs, operating a similar centralized model to ECAD for collecting and distributing public performance royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers in the UK.
• JASRAC: Japan's JASRAC is the Japanese PRO, directly comparable to ECAD as a centralized CMO managing public performance rights collection and distribution with a near-monopoly position granted by copyright law.
• GEMA: Germany's GEMA is the centralized CMO for musical works in Germany, structurally very similar to ECAD with a statutory collection mandate, member-association governance model, and a large repertoire database covering millions of works.
• BMI: Broadcast Music, Inc. is the second major US PRO, directly comparable to ECAD as a competing performing rights organization. Both collect public performance royalties from music users and distribute to songwriters, composers, and publishers, though ECAD has a statutory monopoly in Brazil whereas ASCAP/BMI compete.
• SOCAN: Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada is the Canadian PRO, operating with the same public performance royalty collection mandate and member-association structure that ECAD administers in Brazil.
• SIAE: Italy's Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori is the Italian PRO, performing an analogous role to ECAD in collecting and distributing public performance royalties, with a similar multi-association historical governance structure.
• ASCAP: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is the US PRO, performing the same public performance royalty collection and distribution function for musical works as ECAD does in Brazil. Both organizations operate as centralized clearinghouses for rights holders under a statutory framework.
• SACEM: France's SACEM is the leading European PRO/CMO, comparable to ECAD in operating a centralized public performance royalty collection and distribution system with reciprocal agreements with peer societies worldwide.
• APRA AMCOS: Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society is the PRO for Australia and New Zealand, with a comparable centralized model for music rights collection and distribution, including extensive digital streaming coverage.

Broad incumbents

• SoundExchange: SoundExchange is the US CMO for digital performance royalties (sound recording copyright), comparable to the digital streaming portion of ECAD's collection mandate. While focused specifically on the digital/streaming segment for sound recordings (vs. ECAD's broader scope covering musical compositions), it is the closest analog for the streaming-execution tracking work that represents 33.6% of ECAD's 2025 collections.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Ecad_Oficial
• Facebookfacebook.com/EcadDireitosAutorais
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ecad-direitos-autorais

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ECAD