Sting Pays Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to Former The Police Members as Long-Running Royalty Dispute Escalates
Legendary British musician Sting has found himself at the center of a high-profile legal dispute with former The Police band members — guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland. The conflict revolves around royalties for The Police songs, which the musicians claim have been underpaid for years.
During hearings at the High Court in London, it emerged that Sting has already paid his former bandmates more than $800,000 (approximately £600,000) as compensation for unpaid royalties. This amount has been acknowledged as only a partial settlement and does not mark the end of the dispute.
The origins of the conflict date back to the late 1970s, when The Police were beginning their rise to global fame. Although Sting was the primary songwriter of the band, there was an agreement between the members to share revenues in recognition of Summers’ and Copeland’s contributions to the arrangements and overall sound of the music. Under these agreements, the musicians were entitled to a percentage of the songwriting income.
However, with the rise of the digital music industry, a key question has emerged: do those earlier agreements apply to streaming services and digital platforms, which now generate the majority of music revenues? Summers and Copeland argue that their payments did not include income from streaming and online exploitation of the band’s catalogue, including iconic hits such as “Every Breath You Take, ” “Roxanne, ” and “Message in a Bottle.”
According to the court, the agreements between the band members were updated several times — including in 1981, 1997, and 2016 — but the claimants argue that the wording failed to reflect the realities of the digital era. Their legal representatives state that the total amount owed could be significantly higher than what has already been paid, potentially reaching several million dollars when interest is taken into account.
Sting’s legal team, meanwhile, maintains that the payments made relate solely to historical underpayments, and that the existing agreements do not require him to share streaming income. Sting himself has not made any public comments on the substance of the case.
The dispute has drawn significant attention within the music industry not only because of the high-profile names involved, but also due to its broader implications. The Police are one of the most commercially successful rock bands in history, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide, and their catalogue continues to generate substantial revenue decades after the group disbanded.
The legal battle between Sting and his former bandmates has become a telling example of how legacy royalty agreements collide with the modern streaming economy. The case is expected to continue, and its outcome could set an important precedent for musicians and rights holders around the world.
