Diddy, the hip hop mogul, has revealed that he pays British hitmaker Sting a lump sum of money every day for not clearing a sample.
On Wednesday, April 5, the rapper and producer, 53, revealed on Twitter that he pays $5,000 per day in royalties for sampling the rocker’s, 71, iconic 1983 single, Every Breath You Take, on his 1997 single, I’ll Be Missing You.
The rapper retweeted a clip from Sting’s 2018 interview with The Breakfast Club, in which the musician was asked if it’s true that Diddy pays him $2,000 per day for the sample, which he confirmed.
In his caption Diddy clarified that the sum is actually larger, writing: ‘Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting.’
During the initial interview, the former Police frontman stated that Diddy only asked for permission after the song was released, but added, ‘We’re very good friends now.’
After host Charlamagne Tha God asked Sting about the daily payment, the British rocker replied, ‘Yeah, for the rest of his life.’
He also praised the tune: ‘It was a beautiful version of that song.’
If Diddy’s $5,000 payment is issued every 24 hours, Sting would make about $1.8 million every year.
I’ll Be Missing You was a tribute to iconic New York rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who died at the age of 24 in 1997.