Diddy Reveals Massive Daily Fee He Has to Pay Sting Over Song Drama

Nicole Wert
·2 min read

Diddy is still paying for this musical misstep.

Diddy pays his daily dues to Sting after sampling one of his songs without his seal of approval.

The "Coming Home" rapper, 53, took to his Twitter to clarify the amount of money that he pays The Police frontman, 71, after sampling one of the band's songs without permission in 1997. 

An interview resurfaced from 2018 on Twitter on April 5 showed Sting revealing to The Breakfast Club that Diddy pays him daily fees. "Is it true that Diddy has to pay you two grand a day because he didn't have permission to sample 'Every Breath You Take?'" Charlamagne tha God asked Sting.

Sting's response? "Yeah. For the rest of his life."

Sting clarified that Diddy asked him for permission after the song was already released, and noted that there are no hard feelings, stating, "We're very good friends now."

The song, "Every Breath You Take," was written by Sting and released by his band The Police in 1983. Diddy then sampled it in his song, "I'll Be Missing You," as a tribute to the late The Notorious B.I.G. in 1997.

While the issue seems to be settled between the two musicians, Diddy came across the interview this month and clarified the real amount he is actually paying—and it may surprise you.


"Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!" he wrote alongside the resurfaced video.

A large percentage of Diddy's daily fees are presumably going to Universal Music Group, who Sting sold his songwriting catalogue to last year in an estimated $300 million deal, according to The New York Times.

"Every Breath You Take" was the The Police's biggest hit and topped the U.S. charts for nearly eight weeks the year it was released. The song went on to win two Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance By Duo Or Group With Vocal in 1984.

"I'll Be Missing You," which credited Diddy as Puff Daddy, as well as Faith Evans and the vocal group 112, became an even bigger hit, topping the U.S. charts for nearly 11 weeks after it was released.