Every Buck You Take: when riffs are worth millions
The ongoing legal dispute between former members of The Police over “Every Breath You Take” illustrates the gap between artistic creation and copyright law. Released in 1983 and credited solely to Sting, the song remains a massive hit, generating enormous revenue: Sting reportedly earns between £550,000 and £740,000 per year, with nearly 3 billion streams on Spotify.
Yet, Andy Summers, the band’s guitarist, said the song “was going in the trash until I played on it” — and he invented a riff that became iconic and one of the most recognizable guitar lines in rock history.