The rapper's 1997 ode to Biggie Smalls famously featured The Police's 'Every Breath You Take.'
Sting is raking in the royalties with every breath he takes. According to Diddy, he pays the 71-year-old musician a whopping $5,000 per day for sampling one of his songs without permission.
"Every Breath You Take," written by Sting and released by his band, The Police, in 1983, was famously used in Diddy's and Faith Evans' 1997 tribute to the late The Notorious B.I.G., titled "I'll Be Missing You." In a newly resurfaced 2018 interview with The Breakfast Club, Sting confirmed rumors that Diddy was paying him $2,000 per day "for the rest of his life" for his use of the song without asking. Sting added, "We're good friends now."
On Wednesday, however, Diddy took to Twitter to correct that number to $5,000 per day.
"Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!" he wrote.
Last year, Sting sold his impressive songwriting catalogue to Universal Music in an estimated $300 million deal, according to The New York Times. Meanwhile, licensing agency BMI said in 2019 that "Every Breath You Take" was the most-performed song in its 14 million-song catalogue.
ET sat down with the legendary musician back in 2021 ahead of his Las Vegas residency, and Sting shared that he hopes to be remembered for more than just his music.
"My legacy, I hope, is beyond the music," he reflected. "You know, I'm more than just a musician. I'm a father, I'm a husband, I'm a citizen. The legacy is a bigger thing than just hits."
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