Sting has been taken to court by his former Police bandmates, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, who claim they have been underpaid royalties for some of the band’s biggest hits. The guitarist and drummer filed a civil case in the High Court, alleging lost income from tracks recorded during the group’s 1977–1984 run, including Roxanne and Every Breath You Take.
Summers and Copeland argue that the trio entered into an oral agreement in 1977 to share publishing income, which was later confirmed in contracts. Under that arrangement, the primary songwriter would give a percentage of royalties to the other members as arrangers’ fees. Court documents show the terms were revised in 1981, 1995, and again in 2016.
The dispute now hinges on which categories of royalties apply. Publishing income is typically divided into mechanical royalties, earned through physical sales and streaming, and performance royalties, collected when music is broadcast or played publicly. Summers and Copeland contend they are owed both. Sting, however, maintains the agreement covered only mechanical royalties and that a 2016 contract barred members from making further claims. His legal team also suggested his bandmates may in fact owe him money due to past overpayments.
The lawsuit seeks roughly £1.5 million in damages. Sting denies any wrongdoing.
The Police, formed in 1977, became one of the most successful acts of the era, topping charts worldwide with their fifth album Synchronicity. Their most famous single, Every Breath You Take, remains one of the most-played songs in radio history and was later reworked into P Diddy’s 1997 hit I’ll Be Missing You.
Despite their success, the band’s history was marked by tension. They split in 1984 but reunited for a global tour in 2007. Summers has long asserted his role in shaping some of the band’s signature sounds, including the guitar riff from Every Breath You Take.
The lawsuit comes three years after Sting sold the rights to his entire songwriting catalogue to Universal Music Group in a deal reportedly worth $200 million.
Source: BBC