Sting pays Police bandmates over £600,000 in royalties as dispute continues

15 January 2026, 11:13

Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland sued Sting last year.

Sting has paid out over half a million pounds to his estranged Police bandmates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland, court papers have revealed.

The band's leader made a payment after acknowledging underpaid royalties following the legal action launched by Summers and Copeland last September, BBC News reports.

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Papers showed that Sting's lawyers acknowledged a payment of "over $800,000" (£595,000), while Summers and Copeland's lawyers reported the receipt of a "historic underpayment" of $870,000 (£647,000).

The matter has still not been resolved, as a two-day preliminary hearing began at at London's High Court on Wednesday (January 15), with guitarist Summers and drummer Copeland seek millions more in what they claim are royalties that are due.

While Sting is credited as the sole songwriter on most of The Police's back catalogue, they agreed in 1977 that Summers and Copeland would share a percentage as an "arrangers' fee" in recognition of their musical contributions to some songs.

These contributions include things like Summers' guitar line on massive hit 'Every Breath You Take'.

The Police - Every Breath You Take (Official Music Video)

Copeland and Summers had argued that Sting had withheld some of these agreed payments, and have subsequently claimed that they are further entitled to income from streaming and downloads, with their lawyers suggesting this could result in a payout of over £8 million.

While their original agreement didn't mention streaming, they suggest that it should be interpreted as such given the radical changes in the consumption of music since it was drawn up.

In turn, Sting's lawyers argue that streaming royalties are instead "public performances" akin to radio plays, and shouldn't count as sales to which Summers and Copeland would be entitled to a cut.

The Police first split in 1984, a year after their final album Synchronicity, but reformed in 1986, 1992, 2003 and, for the last time, for The Police Reunion Tour in 2007-08.