According to a
fascinating report on CelebrityNetWorth.com, there was a royalty
battle between Puff Daddy and Sting over their hit tracks “Every Breath
You Take” and “I’ll Be Missing You”.
fascinating report on CelebrityNetWorth.com, there was a royalty
battle between Puff Daddy and Sting over their hit tracks “Every Breath
You Take” and “I’ll Be Missing You”.
Artiste Sting’s classic
ballad about an unhealthy obsession with a lost love, “Every Breath You Take”
was one of the biggest hits of 1983.
ballad about an unhealthy obsession with a lost love, “Every Breath You Take”
was one of the biggest hits of 1983.
In
1997, “Every Breath You Take” received a huge re-boot in popularity
when Puff Daddy remixed the song as his tribute to the late rapper
Notorious BIG in “I’ll Be Missing You”.
1997, “Every Breath You Take” received a huge re-boot in popularity
when Puff Daddy remixed the song as his tribute to the late rapper
Notorious BIG in “I’ll Be Missing You”.
Puff
Daddy’s version would go on to win a Grammy and be certified as one of the
bestselling singles of all time with more 7 million copies sold worldwide.
Unfortunately for Diddy,
no one from his label, Bad Boy Records, thought to secure Sting’s permission to
sample the 1983 pop song for the updated 1997 remix.
no one from his label, Bad Boy Records, thought to secure Sting’s permission to
sample the 1983 pop song for the updated 1997 remix.
Had Diddy asked
permission first, he likely would have been required to hand over just 25% of
I’ll Be Missing You’s publishing royalties to Sting.
permission first, he likely would have been required to hand over just 25% of
I’ll Be Missing You’s publishing royalties to Sting.
But by forgetting to ask
permission before the song was released, Sting was able to demand and receive
100% of the remix’s publishing royalties, which is nearly $2000 per day.
permission before the song was released, Sting was able to demand and receive
100% of the remix’s publishing royalties, which is nearly $2000 per day.
And Sting gets all of
it, reportedly, until 2053, when he’ll be 102 years old, should he live that
long.
it, reportedly, until 2053, when he’ll be 102 years old, should he live that
long.
