A decades-old Police royalty deal is colliding with the streaming economy — and millions are now at stake.
Can you guess how much money has changed hands in music royalty and IP battles?
You can’t. The figures are spread across routine payouts, unmatched royalties, settlements and blockbuster court awards.
The financial landscape of the music industry is hard to navigate. It’s been especially hard for The Police.
Stewart Copeland, drummer, told the Guardian, “The Police’s recording sessions were very dark. We beat the crap out of each other”.
Once again, The Police have come to blows. Sting (Gordon Sumner) has found himself in a legal battle against Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers.
Filed with the London High Court, the two allege that they have been underpaid £1.5 Million based on streaming figures. On Spotify alone, the band has 50 million monthly listeners.
The way we listen to music has changed greatly since the heyday of The Police. In 1977, the band instituted a verbal agreement that was formalised in 1981.
It dictated that when one member received publishing income, a percentage around 15% would be shared with the other two.
The one issue? This agreement was based on mechanical royalties. Mechanical royalties are paid when a song is pressed to vinyl or CD. A good deal, before the boom of streaming.
Sting’s legal team argues that online streaming counts as “public performance,” rather than a sale.
Since this is the case, then the pair would not be entitled to royalties.
Currently, Sting’s legal team has revealed that since the time of the case being filed, Sting has paid more than £595,000 in “certain admitted historic underpayments”.
Streaming and royalties have been litigated across the world. The High Court of London heard a similar argument, and has yet to release a judgement in response to the estates of Jimi Hendrix’s bandmates’ claim to streaming royalties.
The estates of each bandmate asks the question: How could they have considered streaming at the time of signing?
