Sting confirms Diddy pays him R36,000 a day for sampling his song

UPDATE: Scroll down to read what Diddy had to say about this viral story in a follow-up tweet.

Diddy is still paying the price for sampling The Police classic 'Every Breath You Take' on his song 'I'll Be Missing You'. 

Sting has confirmed years-long reports that the rapper has to pay him $2,000 (R36,000) in royalties every day for using the track without permission. 

The 71-year-old wrote the song for his band's 1983 'Synchronicity' album. Fast forward to 1997 when Diddy - then known as Puff Daddy - decided to use an interpolation of the track's melody.

'I'll Be Missing You' is a song Diddy dedicated to his friend, Christopher 'The Notorious B.I.G.' Wallace, following his death. 

The track, which featured Biggie's partner Faith Evans, became a major hit and went on to win 'Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group' at the Grammys. 

During an old appearance on 'The Breakfast Club' - which has resurfaced online - Sting revealed that Diddy has to pay $2k every day "for the rest of his life".

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As one Twitter user put it, those are some expensive breaths Diddy will be taking for a long time. 

Despite the drama, Sting says Diddy did eventually ask him for permission - after the fact - and everything is good between them.

"We're very good friends now," the 'Englishman in New York' hitmaker said.

As if paying $2,000 every day for 365 days a year isn't bad enough, Diddy took to Twitter to say that the amount is much higher.

"Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!" he tweeted.

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Diddy Net Worth

With a reported net worth of $1-billion (R18-billion), Diddy can certainly afford to make the $1,800,000 payment a year to Sting.

 Sting isn't doing badly himself. He is reportedly worth between $300-million and $550-million. 

UPDATE:  

Diddy took to Twitter on Friday to reveal that he was just joking about paying Sting $5, 000 a day. It is, however, true that he sampled Sting's song without permission. The rapper later cleared things up with the singer - who told Rolling Stone magazine in 2003 that he made a lot of money from the song.

"Those guys just take your s**t, put it on a record and deal with the legality later. Elton John told me, 'You gotta hear ['I’ll Be Missing You'], you’re gonna be a millionaire!' I said, 'I am a millionaire!' He said, 'You’re gonna be a millionaire twice over!' I put a couple of my kids through college with the proceeds, and me and P. Diddy are good pals still," Sting said. 

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Watch Diddy's 'I'll Be Missing You' music video below. 

And here's The Police's 'Every Breath You Take' music video.

Main image credit: YouTube/Bad Boys Entertainment (Screenshot of rapper Diddy in the official 'I'll Be Missing You' music video)