Rapper and record executive Sean “Diddy” Combs rose to prominence in the 1990s alongside his good friend, The Notorious B.I.G. After Biggie’s death, Diddy paid tribute to the “Hypnotize” rapper with his own song. But the Sting song that it sampled continues to cost him money to this day.

Diddy sampled The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ for his song ‘I’ll Be Missing You’

The Notorious B.I.G.’s death in 1997 rocked the music industry and led to an outpouring of condolences for his loved ones. That same year, Diddy — who went by Puff Daddy at the time — released “I’ll Be Missing You,” a heartfelt tribute to Biggie featuring R&B group 112 and Biggie’s ex-wife, Faith Evans. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The song famously sampled The Police’s 1983 hit “Every Breath You Take.” Sampling had become a common practice in hip-hop (thanks in part to artists like Biggie), but laws around sampling remained unclear.

Diddy never cleared the sample with The Police, leading to some frustration from the band’s members and some financial difficulties for Diddy.

Diddy didn’t ask to sample the song, so he owes Sting $2,000 a day for the song

If Diddy had asked permission to sample The Police’s iconic song, he likely would have only had to pay 25 percent of the publishing royalties. But because of copyright law, Sting — the group’s frontman and primary songwriter — was able to claim 100 percent of the royalties.

As a result, Sting has been raking in money since the release of “I’ll Be Missing You.” According to Celebrity Net Worth, Sting earns $730,000 a year, or $2,000 a day, off the royalties from “Every Breath You Take” alone.

Sting may be the one profiting off “Every Breath You Take,” but Police guitarist Andy Summers is the only one actually heard on “I’ll Be Missing You.”

Summers and bandmate Stewart Copeland first spoke about the payment discrepancy back in a 2000 interview with Revolver. 

“Sting’s making out like a bank robber here, while Andy and I have gone unrewarded and unloved for our efforts and contributions,” Copeland said. 

Summers later expressed his thoughts on “the major rip-off of all time” in a 2012 interview with A.V. Club.

“It’s very flattering. I guess everybody likes it. Stewart [Copeland]’s not on it. Sting’s not on it. I’d be walking around Tower Records, and the f***ing thing would be playing over and over,” he said. “It was actually my kid, who was 10 at the time, [who] said, ‘Hey dad, there’s some girl on the radio who’s playing you guys!’ I went into his room and listened to his radio, and I was like, ‘This is me, what the f*** is this?’”

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