#the-police

#the-police

As reported by The New York Times, The Police drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers filed their lawsuit in the High Court in London, alleging the band's lead vocalist and primary songwriter owes them "arranger's fees" stemming from the "digital exploitation" of The Police's back catalog. In the court documents, Copeland and Summers estimate they are owed "in excess of $2 million."

There is little debate about the song's origins. Sting has always said he wrote the words, chords and melody in one burst of inspiration while staying in Jamaica. His original demo is almost identical to the released version on the band's Synchronicity album. What Summers and Copeland now argue is that their contributions - in particular Summers' distinctive guitar arpeggio riff - transformed the track from a rough sketch into a timeless hit. Summers has described his part as rescuing the song from "going in the trash".

In the suit, filed in London High Court, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland claim they never got songwriting credit on their band's 1983 single, one of the biggest hits of the '80s and famously sampled on Diddy and Faith Evans' "I'll Be Missing You." They allege in the suit that they have never been paid for their writing contributions.

Sting is listed as a defendant under his real name, Gordon Matthew Sumner, alongside his company Magnetic Publishing Limited. Via and The Daily Mail, he makes £550,000, or about $740,000, from "Every Breath You Take" royalties each year. The song credits only one composer and lyricist, Sting, with Copeland and Summers alleging that they've been cheated out of millions of dollars of royalties because they did not receive co-writing credits on the song.