UK Court Hears Police Royalties Dispute Over Streaming

London's High Court began a preliminary hearing on Wednesday into a royalties dispute between Sting and his former Police bandmates, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, who claim they are owed more than 1.5 million pounds in arranger's fees primarily from streaming revenue.

The case centers on a longstanding agreement under which Sting, the band's bassist and primary songwriter whose real name is Gordon Sumner, shares 15 percent of his publishing income with Copeland, the drummer, and Summers, the guitarist, to recognize their contributions to the arrangements of the band's hits. Court documents indicate that since legal action began in late 2024, Sting has already paid approximately 595,000 pounds for certain admitted historic underpayments, according to his barrister, Robert Howe KC.

The dispute hinges on whether this 15 percent arranger's fee applies to income from digital streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Sting argues that the fees cover only mechanical royalties from physical formats such as vinyl records and CDs, as specified in a 2016 settlement agreement that aimed to resolve all prior financial issues among the members. "The musicians do not agree on how...