Overview
- Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland sued in late 2024, alleging they are owed more than $2 million in unpaid streaming-related arranger fees.
- Sting’s lawyer, Robert Howe, told the High Court that $800,000 has been paid for admitted historical underpayments since the case began.
- About $1.2 million remains contested, with the court asked to decide how to allocate digital revenue under old contracts.
- The band’s arrangements were set orally in 1977, put in writing in 1981, and reaffirmed in 2016 without explicit reference to streaming.
- Sting’s side argues the agreements concern mechanical royalties tied to physical formats, while Summers and Copeland say they cover streaming and downloads; Judge Robert Graham Bright oversaw the preliminary hearing, and no trial date is set.