More details have emerged in the lawsuit filed by Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland against their Police bandmate Sting.
In the civil case filed in London’s High Court, they claim that despite having not co-written songs such as “Roxanne” and “Every Breath You Take,” that they’ve been underpaid for their contributions.
This all stems from an “oral agreement” the three of them entered into in 1977 in which they agreed that, when any one member received publishing income for a song they’d written, they would share a percentage of that money, usually 15%, with the other two members, in what was termed an arrangers’ fee. Sting’s lawyers argue that their claims are “illegitimate,” and he contends that there was no “oral agreement.” Regardless, they formalized the agreement in 1981 with revisions in 1995 and 2016.
The suit focuses on which categories of publishing income Summers and Copeland should receive compensation. They are divided into two categories:
- Performance royalties — which are paid when a song is played in public, on the radio or streaming.
- Mechanical royalties — paid when a song is pressed to CD or vinyl, but also when it’s streamed on demand.
Summers and Copeland argue that they should be paid for both, but Sting says their agreement only covers mechanical royalties. And his lawyers argue that under the terms of the 2016 agreement, all three members agreed not to pursue any historic or future claims over royalties.
They are seeking $ 2 million, but Sting’s lawyers counter that they may owe him money that has been overpaid to them.
