US EditionThe Police Bandmates Sue Sting Over $2 Million Unpaid Streaming Royalties
Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland claim more than $2 million in unpaid arranger's fees from streaming royalties despite Sting paying over $800,000 for historic underpayments.
- On Jan 14, 2026 the preliminary hearing began at London's High Court, where Andy Summers, guitarist, and Stewart Copeland, drummer, sued Sting for more than $2m in arranger's fees and streaming royalties, with the hearing due to conclude January 15.
- The dispute centres on whether streaming revenue from Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music should count as mechanical sales or public performance under The Police's 1977 oral agreement, which set a 15% arrangers' fee.
- Court filings show Sting has since paid more than $800,000 in admitted underpayments, and Summers and Copeland disclosed a recent $870,000 payment from Sting's publishing company without interest.
- The plaintiffs are seeking permission to expand their claim to include streaming and downloads under the 1997 and 2016 agreements, while Robert Howe KC calls the amended claim `illegitimate` and cites a 2016 clause limiting payments to mechanical income from manufactured records.
- Their lawyers say the claim could be worth not less than £8m if amended, and a ruling could affect streaming royalties under legacy publishing agreements from the late 1970s to 2016, especially after Universal Music Group bought Sting's catalogue in 2022.
40 Articles
40 Articles
Musician Sting reportedly paid his former colleagues at The Police more than $600,000 after recognizing that they did not receive enough royalties.
Former guitarist and former drummer asked Sting for $9 million for royalties never paid on this and other band songs
Two band members of The Police claim that Sting has cheated them out of millions of kroner, while the singer believes that he wrote the songs and therefore should receive the profits.
Who is entitled to the royalties from The Police's "Every Breath You Take" (and other hits)? That's the issue at stake in a London court case pitting Sting against his bandmates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland. Hearings are taking place this week, but a verdict is not expected anytime soon.
Every Breath You Take is one of the most iconic songs of The Police; since it was released in 1983 it has accompanied the soundtrack of numerous films and series such as Friends or Stranger Things. More than 40 years after its release, this track was one of those highlighted in the lawsuit that guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland presented in late 2024 against Sting, the main composer of the British band, for “substantial damage …
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