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Sting is being sued for 'MILLIONS of pounds in lost royalties' by former bandmates in The Police
DAILYMAIL.COM ^ | 24 August 2025 | SAM LAWLEY,

Posted on 08/25/2025 8:09:51 AM PDT by dennisw

Sting's former Police bandmates are suing the frontman for millions of pounds in missing royalties.

The singer, 73, was handed a High Court writ by the group's guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland.

The 'substantial' damages claim comes after many years of bitter legal disputes.

A source told The Sun: 'This has been coming for quite some time. Lawyers tried repeatedly to reach an out-of-court settlement but hit a stalemate.

'Andy and Stewart decided there was no alternative than court so pressed the button. They say they are owed millions in lost royalties.'

London's High Court lists the legal case under 'general commercial contracts and arrangements'.

Sting is down as a defendant under his real name, Gordon Matthew Sumner, while his company Magnetic Publishing Limited is also listed as a defendant.

The star is believed to earn £550,000 a year in royalties from smash hit Every Breath You Take alone, the fifth best-selling song of the '80s.

Bandmates Summers and Copeland, however, were not handed songwriting credits on the single.

New wave band The Police were formed in London in 1977 and shot to stardom with their second album Reggatta de Blanc,

Copeland founded the band in 1977, joining up with Sting when he saw his charisma with the jazz fusion band Last Exit. They then approached agile rock guitarist Summers.

But immediately there was understood to be a three-way power struggle. Sting said previously: 'We didn't go to school together or grow up in the same neighbourhood. We were never a tribe.

'We care passionately about the music and we're all strong characters and nobody would be pushed around. We fought over everything.'

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Health/Medicine; Music/Entertainment
KEYWORDS: andysummers; lawsuit; music; royalties; stewartcopeland; sting; thepolice

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1 posted on 08/25/2025 8:09:51 AM PDT by dennisw
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To: dennisw
Sting's net worth is estimated to be around $300 million, though some reports place it higher, with the Sunday Times Rich List estimating his wealth at £320 million (approximately $405 million USD) in 2024

How much do you need?

2 posted on 08/25/2025 8:12:35 AM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: dennisw

Sting wrote the lyrics but Summers and Copeland made the music and where ripped off by Sting, back in the day (1980s). Why were these two so stupid to allow this?

These rip-offs were common. But in this day and age they get reviewed by courts, with many songwriters having to share their songwriting royalties going forward. Screw Sting, he has not put out anything good since 1990s Ten Summoners Tales.
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Ten Summoner’s Tales is the fourth solo studio album by English musician Sting. The title is a combined pun of his family name, Sumner, and a character in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the summoner. Released in 1993, it explores themes of love and morality in a noticeably upbeat mood compared to his previous release, the introspective The Soul Cages, released in 1991 after the loss of both his parents in the 1980s.

This album contains two US hits; “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You” reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 while “Fields of Gold” got to No. 23.[22]

Ten Summoner’s Tales was shortlisted for the 1993 Mercury Prize. In 1994, it was nominated for six Grammy awards including Album of the Year (losing to Whitney Houston‘s The Bodyguard), winning Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (”If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”) and Best Long Form Music Video, while “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You” was also nominated for Record and Song of the Year.


3 posted on 08/25/2025 8:15:49 AM PDT by dennisw (There is no limit to human stupidity)
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To: dennisw

String


4 posted on 08/25/2025 8:17:16 AM PDT by Tommy Revolts
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To: dennisw

Pay up or do a reunion tour :)


5 posted on 08/25/2025 8:19:14 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: dennisw

Dana Carvey: Sting is the hippest name, let’s face it. The guy named himself a verb, present tense. ‘Cause he’s not Stung, and he’s not Stinging, he’s Sting. Y’know? It’s so cool. I admire that. His real name, as you might know, is Gordon, and he changes his name to Sting? Who’s got the balls to tell their friends to call them Sting? At one point, he had to remind people:
[in British accent]

Dana Carvey: “Uh, excuse me, from now on, um, would you mind calling me Sting?”

Dana Carvey: “F___ you! Yeah, my name’s Bite and this is my buddy Scratch. Now get me a beer, Gordy.”

Dana Carvey: “Sorry, two Coors Lights coming right up. I’m gonna grow up and be a rock star, you’ll see! I’ll be watching you....watching you.”


6 posted on 08/25/2025 8:20:15 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: kiryandil
“How much do you need?”

.

Well, that all depends upon the size and extent of the new country you are attempting to establish.

7 posted on 08/25/2025 8:21:36 AM PDT by GaltAdonis
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To: dennisw

So I guess that means a reunion tour is out of the question?


8 posted on 08/25/2025 8:25:40 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: dennisw

I’m only familiar with two things he’s done...Spirits In The Material World and the acoustic version of Fields of Gold.Both great,great songs.


9 posted on 08/25/2025 8:26:13 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Import The Third World,Become The Third World)
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To: dennisw

So, the Police are going after him?


10 posted on 08/25/2025 8:26:14 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie
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To: kiryandil
How much do you need?

If people are asked, the answer is generally about twice what they currently have.

11 posted on 08/25/2025 8:27:14 AM PDT by glorgau
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To: dennisw

Even at their peak there was a lot of friction among everyone. Not surprised it’s reared it’s head again all these years later.


12 posted on 08/25/2025 8:27:20 AM PDT by BBQToadRibs2
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To: dennisw

I have no dog in this hunt and I don’t know contract law in the UK, so I don’t have an opinion.

However, I’m a big fan of “if it isn’t in writing, it didn’t happen.”


13 posted on 08/25/2025 8:27:25 AM PDT by cuban leaf (2024 is going to be one for the history books, like 1939. And 2025 will be more so, like 1940-1945.)
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To: PGR88

“So I guess that means a reunion tour is out of the question?”

No grueling tour needed. Police just need to do a 20 date residency at the Sphere in Vegas. Then 5-10 nights residencies in NYC, London and a German city. They could easy gross profit 300 million dollars...or more.

Though this time around they should bring some supporting musicians to fill in the sound. Like The Who and Rolling Stones do.


14 posted on 08/25/2025 8:32:22 AM PDT by dennisw (There is no limit to human stupidity)
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To: dennisw
During their prime, The Police had a claim to being among the top rock bands on earth.

"Spirits In The Material World" released in 1981 was their artistic peak. During that time, they were selling out stadiums all around the world. It's a shame they couldn't hold it together as they would have dominated the 1980s and 1990s.

15 posted on 08/25/2025 8:33:43 AM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: SamAdams76

They quit at the right time, like The Beatles did.

You get a run of seven years, before you turn into a nostalgia band.


16 posted on 08/25/2025 8:35:05 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dennisw
Sting wrote the lyrics but Summers and Copeland made the music and where ripped off by Sting, back in the day (1980s). Why were these two so stupid to allow this?

It's interesting how different bands approach this issue. In the case of the Beatles, Lennon and McCartney agreed to share songwriting credits while the band was together, regardless if either one wrote the entire song. The Doors shared credits on everything with everyone in the band, though Jim Morrison wrote most of the lyrics. (A notable exception was Light My Fire, written by their guitarist Robby Krieger).

Not sure what the law is here, but it would seem to me that if Copeland and Summers allowed Sting to keep the rights to the songs, that's a bad move on their part.

Isn't there two different kinds of royalties? Composer (or lyricist) and performance royalties? You would think the band would get something.

17 posted on 08/25/2025 8:37:54 AM PDT by Repealthe17thAmendment
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To: Gay State Conservative

Fields of Gold accoustic sounds a lot like Marshall Crenshaw’s cover of Dylan’s My Back Pages.


18 posted on 08/25/2025 8:40:40 AM PDT by TTFlyer (Lenin: that by the infliction of terror, a well-organized minority can conquer a nation.)
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To: glorgau

He’ll be 74 in a month. Good luck to him, getting all that stash in the coffin.


19 posted on 08/25/2025 8:42:44 AM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: dfwgator
Slash


20 posted on 08/25/2025 8:42:53 AM PDT by Larry Lucido
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