Diddy confirmed last Friday what iHeartRadio.ca reported a day earlier – that he does not, in fact, pay Sting $5,000 a day for sampling “Every Breath You Take” in his 1997 track “I’ll Be Missing You.”
“I want y’all to understand I was joking!,” he tweeted. "It’s called being Facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for Missing You.”
Last Thursday, under the headline "No, Diddy Doesn't Really Pay Sting $5K A Day For Song Sample," iHeartRadio.ca reported that “Diddy jokingly claimed he pays Sting $5,000 a day for sampling The Police’s hit 'Every Breath You Take' on the 1997 track 'I’ll Be Missing You.' Of course, it’s not true.”
MORE: No, Diddy Does Not Really Pay Sting $5K A Day For Song Sample
As explained, Sting sold his entire music catalogue to Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) in early 2022 for a reported $300 million (all figures U.S.). Royalties for more than 600 songs – including “Every Breath You Take” – belong to UMPG.
The article also explained that the $5,000-a-day joke was in response to a years-old “$2,000-a-day” figure that was never really a thing.
The tall tale hit social media and quickly got picked up by media outlets around the world – many of which knew it was not true.
I want y’all to understand I was joking! It’s called being Facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for Missing You. He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history.
— LOVE (@Diddy) April 7, 2023
LOVE ❤️⚡️✨