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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Sting said in a 2018 interview that he received $2,000 a day in connection with Diddy’s use of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” in “I’ll Be Missing You.” But the exact licensing terms and any current daily payment are not established in the available reporting. Diddy later posted “5K a day,” then said he was joking and denied that Sting charged him $3,000 or $5,000 per day.
What did Sting say he received?
In a 2018 interview with The Breakfast Club, Sting described the payment connected to the sample as “two grand a day.” The Los Angeles Times reported on that interview in 2023 and said Sting described the arrangement as lasting “for the rest of his life.” These are Sting’s reported comments, not a published contract or independently confirmed accounting. Los Angeles Times
Did Diddy confirm a $5,000 daily payment?
No. In April 2023, Sean Combs initially responded “5K a day” to a resurfaced clip of Sting discussing the payment. Combs later said, “I want y’all to understand I was joking! It’s called being Facetious!” He also wrote that Sting “never charged me $3K or $5K a day for Missing You.” Music Business Worldwide reported that the actual licensing figure remained unclear. The $5,000 post should therefore not be treated as confirmation of a contractual rate. Music Business Worldwide
How the two songs are connected
The Police released “Every Breath You Take,” written by Sting, in 1983. Combs’s 1997 tribute to the Notorious B.I.G., “I’ll Be Missing You,” performed with Faith Evans and 112, sampled the earlier song. The Los Angeles Times reports that Combs eventually asked permission to sample it, and that Sting said the two later became good friends.
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The same Times report says Sting sued after the track’s release and eventually obtained the right to claim 100% of royalties on the remix. That reported legal outcome provides context for the dispute, but does not reveal the underlying agreement or establish what a daily payment represents.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known—and what remains unclear
- Reported figure from Sting: $2,000 per day, according to his account of the sample in the 2018 interview.
- Combs’s initial 2023 post: “5K a day,” later described by him as a joke.
- Verified contract amount: not established in the cited reporting.
- Current payment flow: not established; the reporting does not disclose who receives any particular payment or how the arrangement is administered today.
Sting sold rights to his music catalog, including “Every Breath You Take,” to Universal Music Group in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, the Associated Press reported. The reporting does not establish how that transaction affects payments tied specifically to “I’ll Be Missing You.” Associated Press
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