Rotary conveyor drum (19, 119, 219, 319, 419, 519, 59) for use in tobacco industry machines, for transferring a stream of rod-like elements (S), the drum having a first front base and a second front base and a lateral surface (20, 120, 220, 320, 420, 520, 50) onto which the rod-like elements (S) are delivered successively one by one, the lateral surface (20, 120, 220, 320, 420, 520, 50) being provided with spacer projections (22, 122, 222, 322, 422, 522, 52) between which the rod-like elements (S) are conveyed, the drum (19, 119, 219, 319, 419, 519, 59) being equipped with guiding means (21, 51) forcing the rod-like elements (S) to travel from the first front base to the second front base of the drum (19, 119, 219, 319, 419, 519, 59) during the rotation of the drum while the rod-like elements (S) are oriented substantially transversally to the spacer projections (22, 122, 222, 322, 422, 522, 52). The invention also relates to an apparatus comprising such a drum, to a machine for manufacturing multi-element rods and a method of transferring a stream of rod-like elements.