Why is Sting being sued? Ex-bandmates' lawsuit over Every Breath You Take explored

Sting's former Police bandmates have recently sued the 17-time Grammy winner over alleged unpaid royalties for their 1983 classic, Every Breath You Take. According to the Los Angeles Times, the lawsuit has been filed at the London High Court by Police veterans, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland.

Copeland and Summers' lawsuit accused Sting of never giving them songwriting credits for Every Breath You Take. They further alleged that they were never paid for their songwriting contributions for the 1983 chart-topper. The legal filing reportedly listed him (born Gordon Matthew Sumner) and his company, Magnetic Publishing, as defendants.

Sumner was the frontline singer, bassist, and songwriter for Police from 1877 until their disbandment in 1986. Every Breath You Take is one of the band's flagship compositions, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. In May 2018, BMI recognized the Synchronicity song as the most-played in radio history.

Every Breath You Take was nominated for three Grammys at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. It managed to win the first two categories. In 1997, the song was famously sampled on Diddy and Faith Evans' I'll Be Missing You - a tribute to Notorious B.I.G.

Does Diddy pay Sting $5k a day for sampling Every Breath You Take? When rapper debunked viral claim

60th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Show - Source: Getty

In 2023, Diddy debunked the myth that he was paying Sting $ 5,000 a day for sampling Every Breath You Take without permission. The currently incarcerated rapper collaborated with Faith Evans in 1997 to compose I'll Be Missing You, which was a tribute to Biggie Smalls.

Smalls was murdered in a Los Angeles drive-by shooting by an unknown assailant in March 1997. It happened six months after his feud rival, Tupac Shakur, was killed in a similar way in Las Vegas. I'll Be Missing You peaked atop Billboard Hot 100 for eleven weeks and also won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1998.

In a 2018 interview with The Breakfast Club, Sumner spoke about the payments connected to Diddy sampling his song in I'll Be Missing You. As per the 73-year-old, he was paid $2,000 after his song was used without his permission. In April 2023, Combs retweeted the snippet from Sting's interview, writing:

"Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!”

Two days later, Diddy retracted his previous claims via a tweet and called it a joke. The rapper wrote:

“I want y’all to understand I was joking! It’s called being facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for 'Missing You'."

He continued:

"He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history. LOVE.”

At present, Diddy is awaiting his sentence after his arrest in September 2024 on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

About the author

Rajarsi is a content specialist at Sportskeeda with a special focus on European football and Pop Culture. An undergraduate degree holder in Physics, he has work experience of over 2 years and has previously worked at Epic Media Labs for 18 months. A stickler for accuracy, he believes in cross-checking information only from trusted websites like Sofascore and Transfermarkt.

A Barcelona supporter, Rajarsi's tryst with the beautiful game began after watching Argentina's 2010 FIFA World Cup opening tie against Nigeria. He has been an ardent fan of Lionel Messi since then and him lifting the trophy in 2022 is his all-time favorite FIFA World Cup moment.

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Despite believing that no two players can emulate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's respective careers, he feels Lamine Yamal and Arda Guler could replicate the two legends' rivalry. Apart from Europe's top five leagues, he follows Major League Soccer (MLS), Brazilian Serie A, and Argentine Primera Division. He likes to read books, write fiction, and play chess in his spare time.

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Edited by Ahana Mukhopadhyay