jakarta – A recent social media post by musician Ahmad Dhani claiming a royalty payment of IDR 55 million for the song “Still Of The Night” has been disputed by legal expert and singer Kadri Mohamad. Dhani shared an invoice on his social media account, stating it demonstrated the cost of royalties.
The invoice, dated October 27, 2025, details a payment of IDR 55,153,896 to PT Aquarius Pustaka Musik. Dhani used the song, originally by David Coverdale and John Sykes, during a Dewa 19 feat All Star performance.However, Kadri Mohamad asserts the invoice does not represent payment for performing rights related to the concert.
According to Kadri, the invoice specifically covers “reproduction (mechanical) and synchronization rights (audio-visual duplication),” not the royalties due for a live performance. “It is clearly written on the invoice for reproduction and synchronization rights, and not performing rights,” Kadri stated to reporters. He further explained the amount is consistent with market rates for those specific rights for a song of that stature.
Kadri clarified that performing rights royalties in Indonesia are managed through collaborations between Collective Management Institutions (LMK) or Collective Management Organizations (CMO), both domestically and internationally. “Performing rights for the song for playback and use for concerts in Indonesia are carried out through collaboration between LMK in Indonesia and LMK international,” he said. “They never carry out their own collections and use them directly for performing rights in Indonesia.”
