Sean 'Diddy' Combs Pays Sting $2K a Day for Sampling 'Each Breath You Take'?

For years, the unsubstantiated declare has circulated on social media and in varied information shops that document producer and hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs reportedly pays English musician Sting $2,000 a day in royalties for sampling “Each Breath You Take,” the 1983 hit track by Sting’s former band The Police, on Diddy’s 1997 monitor “I will Be Lacking You.” The declare not too long ago gained renewed consideration on account of social media posts on TikTok and Instagram that reiterated this assertion.

As an illustration, on June 24, 2024, the declare was posted to X by the account Joshua Owings, who wrote, “Diddy pays Sting $2,000 a day as a result of he sampled ‘ Each Breath You Take’ with out permission.” The declare was additionally shared to X in April 2023 by the account GirlTyler, the place it amassed greater than 675,000 views, as of this writing.

Sting’s Assertion Precipitated Diddy Dialogue 

The suggestion of $2,000 originated from a 2018 interview on the iHeart radio present “The Breakfast Club,” the place host Charlamagne Tha God interviewed Sting (actual title Gordon Sumner) alongside his pal and musical collaborator Jamaican-American reggae artist Shaggy. The trade occurred across the 7-minute, 19-second mark: 

Charlamagne Tha God: “Is it true that Diddy has to pay you 2 grand a day as a result of he did not have permission to pattern “Each Breath You Take”?

Sting: “Yeah.”

Charlamagne Tha God: “Wow!”

Sting: “For the remainder of his life.”

Charlamagne Tha God: “Wow!

…

Sting: “If it is on the radio — it ain’t faux information.”

…

Charlamagne Tha God: “However did he ask you for permission?”

Sting: “Sure, he did.”

Charlamagne Tha God: “After the actual fact?”

Sting: “Sure, he did.

Shaggy: “It was after.”

Sting: “We’re excellent mates now.”

It was unclear on the time if Sting’s responses to Charlamagne Tha God have been severe or in jest. Nonetheless, the viral clip resurfaced on social media 5 years later in early April 2023 on the X account Black Millionaires, receiving 12.4 million views, as of this writing:

This publish from Black Millionaires prompted Diddy to reply. He posted to X the identical day to right the alleged determine that Sting had apparently affirmed whereas on “The Breakfast Membership,” writing: “Nope. 5K a day. Like to my brother @OfficialSting ! ✊.”

Nope. 5K a day. Like to my brother @OfficialSting! 😎 ✊🏿🫶🏿 https://t.co/sHdjd0UZEy

— LOVE (@Diddy) April 5, 2023

Following Diddy’s publish to X, which has acquired 8.6 million views as of this writing, a number of respected information shops reported on Diddy’s supposed correction, publishing the unproven determine of $5,000 a day, doubtlessly contributing to the confusion. As an illustration, the NME wrote that, “Diddy has claimed that he has been compelled to pay Sting $5,000 (£4,020) every day for the remainder of his life,” whereas CNBC reiterated that sentiment.

Nonetheless, days later, on April 7, 2023, Diddy took to X once more, this time to stroll again his earlier tweet and to tell his followers that the quantity he pays Sting for the pattern just isn’t as excessive as he had initially posted, claiming his earlier tweet was a joke: “I need y’all to grasp I used to be joking! It is referred to as being Facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been mates for a very long time! He by no means charged me $3K or $5K a day for Lacking You. He in all probability makes greater than $5K a day from one of many largest songs in historical past.”

Whereas multiple outlets reported on Diddy’s supposed correction, his tweet failed to handle Sting’s said determine of $2,000, and Sting has by no means affirmed Diddy’s purported quantity of $5,000. Due to this fact, as a result of neither recording artist has formally publicly affirmed or agreed on a greenback quantity for the royalty funds, and since we discovered no further proof to affirm both urged determine, we’ve got rated this declare as “Unproven.”

Each Royalty Sting Makes

In 2022, Sting reportedly sold his entire music catalog to Common Music Group in a deal mentioned to be estimated round $300 million. This sale included all of Sting’s work as a songwriter, together with his solo output and songs recorded with The Police, comparable to “Each Breath You Take.” In response to The New York Times, “Sting’s deal covers each the copyrights for his songs — which whole greater than 600 — and his royalties as a songwriter, which implies that Common would stand to obtain all future music publishing earnings from his work. In 2019, the licensing company BMI mentioned that ‘Each Breath You Take,’ from 1983, had change into the most-performed track in its catalog of over 14 million items.”

Snopes has reached out to representatives of Sting, his former Police bandmates, Diddy, and Common Music Publishing for remark concerning the royalty funds for “Each Breath You Take.” Thus far, no official affirmation or detailed breakdown of the royalties has been supplied.

Diddy’s 1997 monitor, “I will Be Lacking You,” that includes R&B singer Religion Evans, was a tribute to rapper Infamous B.I.G., who was murdered earlier that yr. The track closely sampled the guitar melody of “Each Breath You Take” from The Police album “Synchronicity.” “I will Be Lacking You” achieved large business success, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 11 weeks.

The Police have been a new-wave trio composed of Sting on lead vocals and bass guitar, Andy Summers on guitar and Stewart Copeland on drums. On “Each Breath You Take,” solely Sting acquired a songwriting credit. Nonetheless, the pattern used on “I will Be Lacking You” doesn’t function Sting’s vocals or Copeland’s drumming — the one a part of The Police track that’s sampled is Summers’ guitar melody.

In October 2023, Summers appeared on the podcast The Jeremy White Show, the place he was requested why he by no means acquired a songwriting co-credit for the monitor. Summers responded, “It is a very contentious [topic] — it’s extremely a lot alive in the intervening time,” hinting at a possible authorized battle. “Watch the press; let’s have a look at what occurs within the subsequent yr. … However that track was going within the trash till I performed on it.”

Three years after the discharge of Diddy’s “Each Breath You Take,” in a 2000 interview with The Police for Revolver Journal, the three band members engaged in a jovial argument over royalty funds for the track. Per Sting’s official website:

Copeland: Andy, since we’re right here, I will again you up on this. You must arise proper now and say, ‘I, Andy, need all of the Puff Daddy cash. As a result of that is not Sting’s track he is utilizing, that is my guitar riff.’ Okay over to you Andy, Go for it…

Summers: [meekly] Okay, I need all the Puff Daddy Cash.

…

Sting: Okay Andy here is all the cash [pours some change on the table]. Sadly, I’ve spent the remainder of it.

…

Copeland: So Sting’s making out like a financial institution robber right here, whereas Andy and I’ve gone unrewarded and unloved for our efforts and contributions.

Sting: Life… is… f***ing… robust. Right here I’m in Tuscany…

Copeland: And do not we all know it! You are in Tuscany in your palace with wine being poured down your throat and grapes being peeled for you. Sting can you purchase me a fort in Italy too? With the proceeds from the longest operating hit single within the historical past of radio? Just a bit chateau someplace?

Sting: We do not have f***ing chateaus in Italy, They’re referred to as palazzos. I will lend you a room.

In a 2003 Rolling Stone interview, Sting talked about that the royalties from “I will Be Lacking You” helped fund his youngsters’s training. He recalled British singer Elton John telling him, “‘You gotta hear [I’ll Be Missing You], you are gonna be a millionaire!'” Sting replied, “I’m a millionaire!” to which Elton responded, “‘You are gonna be a millionaire twice over!'”

In sum, the declare that Diddy pays Sting $2,000 a day for sampling “Each Breath You Take” stays unproven. The precise quantity and phrases haven’t been formally confirmed by both occasion. We’ll replace this text as extra data turns into obtainable.

Snopes has beforehand reported on royalty funds, together with the false declare that actress Daybreak Wells was the one “Gilligan’s Island” solid member to obtain residual funds for syndicated airings of the present, and the true declare that former U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed and profited from the God Bless the USA Bible firm.

Sources