"Sting's former bandmates from The Police have filed a lawsuit against him, seeking a portion of the royalties from the hit song 'Every Breath You Take,' claiming he misappropriated the composition's authorship."
In a surprising turn of events, former bandmates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland of the iconic British band, The Police, are suing their ex-colleague, Sting, over royalties related to the band's most famous song, "Every Breath You Take."
The High Court in London has issued a writ, with Sting and his publishing company, Magnetic, named as defendants. The lawsuit concerns the song that Sting wrote and released in 1983, which has since earned him approximately £550,000 per year in royalties.
According to Summers, he did not strum simple chords for the song but created something unique with his guitar lick. He has long argued that the distinctive guitar figure he created for the song is worthy of a co-credit. Summers claims his guitar contribution significantly transformed "Every Breath You Take" into a moody all-time classic, underlining the brooding, intense undertow of Sting's lyrics.
The finished track of "Every Breath You Take" is dramatically different from Summers' initial demo. The song, which has over two billion Spotify plays and was the biggest song of 1983 and the fifth biggest of the 1980s, initially lacked a guitar part. Summers states that he came up with the riff that made it sound like a Police song.
Summers' statements suggest that he believes his guitar work is worthy of a co-credit on "Every Breath You Take." The lawsuit claims that Summers and Copeland are owed a co-credit and thus millions in royalties.
Lawyers representing Summers and Copeland have repeatedly attempted to reach an out-of-court settlement, but no specific names of their attorneys have been disclosed in the available sources. The action has been ongoing, with attempts to reach an out-of-court settlement failing. As of now, Sting has not commented on the ongoing lawsuit regarding co-credit and royalties.
The lawsuit was reported by The Sun and Guitar Player, adding fuel to the intrigue surrounding the dispute. The case is proceeding at the London High Court, with the final decision on the lawsuit yet to be discovered.
