Kids, this is a lesson -- never riff off of someone else's work without asking. Music and production superstar Sean “Diddy” Combs is still paying the pied piper for one of his biggest hit songs that featured a sample from The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”.
1997’s “I’ll Be Missing You” was a moving tribute to Diddy’s close friend the Notorious B.I.G. after his death. For those who remember the event, even the mention of Diddy’s hit song might make them a little teary-eyed. But today, the song might make Diddy tear up for another reason.
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That’s because the use of “Every Breath You Take” is still costing Diddy a serious amount of money. Recently, a 2018 clip from The Black Millionaires’ show The Breakfast Club resurfaced in which The Police’s lead singer Sting said that Diddy pays him about $2K a day for sampling his song without permission.
Diddy issued a correction on his Twitter, saying, "Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!"
Well it’s good to see that Diddy’s able to laugh about it. The two musicians are on good terms, and from Sting’s perspective, why wouldn’t they be? Apparently Diddy’s payments “put a couple of my kids through college,” Sting told The Breakfast Club.
If you haven’t stopped to do the math, $5,000 a day comes out to $1,825,000 annually. That’s some college fund! Diddy probably isn't too bent out of shape about it though -- the musical icon is worth an estimated $90M.
