Sting revealed in a resurfaced interview that Diddy pays him several thousand dollars every day for sampling The Police’s hit “Every Breath You Take” in his Grammy-winning hit “I’ll Be Missing You.”
Sting and Diddy in 2018. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty)
Diddy Confirms Good Friendship With Sting Despite Paying $5K Per Day
Sting’s 2018 interview with “The Breakfast Club” recently resurfaced online, which reveals that Diddy is paying him “for the rest of his life.” Sting also revealed that the two are now good friends, and he used the proceeds from Diddy’s use of his song to put his children through college. Diddy confirmed the payments on Twitter and raised the price tag to $5,000 a day.
In 2003, Sting spoke to Rolling Stone about how his song was used without permission by Diddy’s team. He revealed that they “put it on a record and dealt with the legality later”. Elton John was the one to convince Sting to listen to the track and told him that he would become a millionaire. Today, the two musicians have become good friends.
USA Today asked Sting for further comments but both his nor Diddy’s representatives have not commented on the matter. The resurfaced clip has shed light on the behind-the-scenes dealings that occur in the music industry. While Diddy’s use of the sample was unauthorized at first, the two musicians have now come to an agreement that results in Diddy paying Sting thousands of dollars every day.
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Diddy’s Grammy-winning Hit Song, ‘I’ll Be Missing You’
Diddy’s Grammy-winning song “I’ll Be Missing You” is a tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. after he was killed in 1997, and features Faith Evans and the R&B group 112, according to the website American Songwriter. The song has a different sound from what the iconic rapper usually produced, with a more acoustic melody to allow the lyrics mourning his friend to stand out.
The chorus sung by Evans adds sweetness, singing about missing him every day and in prayer. The song was a major success, spending 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, winning a Grammy Award, and is one of the best-selling singles of all time.
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