Diddy Says He Still Pays Sting $5,000 A Day For “I’ll Be Missing You” Sample

The Police’s creepy-romantic stalker hymn “Every Breath You Take” was the biggest hit of 1983, and then it was also, after a fashion, the biggest it of 1997. Diddy, then known as Puff Daddy, heavily sampled “Every Breath You Take” on “I’ll Be Missing You,” his ode to his late friend Biggie Smalls. Amazingly, Diddy did not clear that “Every Breath You Take” sample before releasing “I’ll Be Missing You,” and that fuckup still has major financial consequences today. It’s a bit of a shock to learn how major those financial consequences have been.