The Police: Sting pays out over £600,000 to Summers and Copeland in unpaid royalties

Sting has paid out more than half a million pounds to his former Police bandmates after acknowledging that royalty payments had been underestimated. This emerged from documents filed with London’s High Court.

According to the musician's lawyers, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland received a payment of more than $800,000 (around £595,000) following the legal action filed last year. The pair sued Sting and his publishing company in September 2025, claiming they were owed sums ranging from $2 million to $10.75 million in royalties tied to enormously successful songs such as "Roxanne" and "Every Breath You Take". During a preliminary hearing, their lawyers clarified that the total claim could exceed £8 million.

Sting disputes, however, that his two former bandmates are entitled to a share of his earnings from digital downloads and streaming. Although they were not officially credited as writers on most of the band's songs, Summers and Copeland maintain that a verbal agreement to share proceeds was reached back in 1977, later formalised in written contracts.

That agreement acknowledged that, although Sting was the band's principal songwriter, the other members had at times made decisive contributions, such as Summers' famous guitar riff on "Every Breath You Take". For this reason, it was established that a percentage – usually 15% – of the publishing income due to the song's writer would be redistributed to the other two as compensation for arrangements. According to Summers and Copeland, part of these payments had been wrongly withheld.

None of the three musicians were present in court when the preliminary hearing opened. According to the BBC, lawyers for Summers and Copeland asked the judge for permission to expand the case, arguing that, in light of agreements signed in 1997 and 2016, their clients are also entitled to a share of income from streaming and downloads. In their view, the contractual language must be interpreted in light of how the music industry has evolved, with streaming having now largely replaced sales of vinyl, CDs and cassettes.

Court documents acknowledge a recent payment of $870,000 (around £647,000), but note that no interest was applied to the sums linked to the alleged past underpayments. Lawyers for the two musicians reiterated that the claim is worth no less than £8 million and could rise significantly if the amendment to the lawsuit is approved.

Sting's defence, on the other hand, argues that streaming falls under the category of "public performance" rather than sales, and therefore does not require royalty payments to his former bandmates. Furthermore, according to his lawyers, the 2016 agreement provides for compensation only from income derived from "record manufacturing", excluding digital platforms. For this reason, the request to amend the case is described as having no real chance of success. The hearing, presided over by Judge Bright, is expected to conclude shortly, while the full trial is anticipated at a later stage.

The Police formed in 1977 and quickly became one of the most popular bands in the UK, thanks to a formula that blended rock guitars with reggae rhythms. They racked up numerous chart hits, including "Message In A Bottle", "Walking On The Moon" and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic". In 1983 they hit number one in the United States with "Every Breath You Take", taken from the album "Synchronicity", which went on to become the most-played song in radio history.

Despite their success, the band split up in 1984 amid intense personal and artistic tensions. Stewart Copeland later recalled that during the "Synchronicity" sessions relations had deteriorated to the point of physical fights. After a brief and lucrative reunion culminating in a world tour between 2007 and 2008, the band went their separate ways again.

In 2022, Sting sold the rights to his songwriting catalogue to Universal Music Group, in a deal that included both his solo material and the songs he wrote for the Police. The agreement was estimated to be worth around $200 million.

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