>> 2014 was a year of risk and award for sting. >> nothing of value is devoid of risk. >> from lead singer to solo artist, and this year, a multimillion dollar show on broadway. why sting is telling this story and what the rock god thinks of today's biggest music starts. plus, what vanity has to do with his legacy. all on this on this edition of "encore." ♪ >> i look at you, sting. you have this amazing career. for you to go out again and risk your reputation one more time for this -- why?

>> nothing of value is devoid of risk. i enjoyed that risk. what am i, i'm risking my reputation, not my life. i have always taken risks with the artistic decisions i have made. whether it is the kind of music i play or the way i present myself as an adult. i'm a 63-year-old man. not pretending i'm a kid. >> 63-year-old man in a 21-year-old body. [laughter] >> ok. with a 14-year-old mind. i like risk. it is exciting for me to do things that are difficult and succeed. >> which is what you have done your whole life. >> i have a good record. so, hopefully this will work to. let's talk about the last ship. how difficult was it to put this

thing together? >> you have chosen the most difficult thing you could possibly do on broadway -- a musical and an original musical. most musicals are based on a pre-existing one. a movie or a fairytale that everyone knows. and so, introducing something entirely new, a story or scenario that is completely fresh, is the most difficult thing you can do on broadway. i knew that going in. but it is so satisfying to fight this battle. >> this is somewhat based on your own history and growing up around newcastle. is this musical also a little bit about a statement or a commentary about how we are living today with that economy? the labor force? >> i was born and raised in a shipyard town. literally in the shadow of the shipyard. a giant ship would loom over my street. my earliest memories are giant ships. i did everything in my power to escape working in the shipyard. my grandfather had worked there.

most of the people who lived there work there. it was toxic. it was dangerous. it was noisy. i did not want to end up there. i studied hard at school. got a scholarship to get a good education. i practiced music. i had a dream of being a musician. it is ironic i would go back in my creative life and pay homage to the community i came from. the shipping industry was destroyed by economic forces beyond the power of the community. there is no way it could have survived. and yet the message of community being the basis of economics is an important one. i don't think you could have economic theories that don't think of communities being a major part of that. abstract theories don't work for me in that sense. the industry was destroyed. the community went down.

>> destroyed by what? modernization? >> it was cheaper to build ships in korea and japan because they were subsidized. our government refused to subsidized shipbuilding industry. it was not exactly fair. the playing field was not level. it had nothing to the workmanship of the ships. work.e very proud of that and then it went. the thing that identified us as a community was taken from us. i think people in detroit would understand that idea. when you take an industry away from a community, how do they identify themselves? how do the communities stay together? my community suffered in the same way. >> has it been a nailbiting experience? >> is still is. it is a voyage of a ship we are trying to keep afloat.

every day is a new surprise. we take three steps forward and to back. i announced i was going into a play. it was a surprise to me. i didn't anticipate this. whatever it takes to keep the ship afloat, i will do. i am enjoying the struggle. >> what triggered it? looking at the ticket sales? >> figures do not lie. we are fighting the same battle. we all have the same kind of figures. luckily, we have a secret weapon, which is me. i announced it. that is clearly working. >> what is stellar? can you say? >> $1.3 million in a week. more than enough to keep us afloat. >> like a 50% rise? >> more than 50%. >> how come you didn't do that in the first place? >> it wasn't my intention.

i'm very happy with the play as it is without me and it. it is a difficult thing to get across to the public that this is something they will enjoy. i'm hoping by going into it we will reach a tipping point. word-of-mouth is good. but, word-of-mouth is slow. it takes time. maybe two people tell you to see a play before you decide. maybe 60,000 extra people will see it because i am in it. and there word-of-mouth will take it to the promised land of survival. >> since we are a business network, we like to dig into these numbers. how much have you put of your >> the lastto it? five years of my life i have invested in the show, and time is money. i have not invested in the show. we had some good investors. you could have bankrolled this in one day. many wanted to do that. finance and me are not

particularly -- we're not comfortable bedfellows. i'm an artist. and let other people do that kind of thing. >> you let other people raise the money or find investors. did you care who was invested? >> i was very fortunate. the two people who own my record company from the 70's heard. they saw the workshop. decided they would back me one more time. i have known them for a long time. they trust me. there also artists in their own rights. >> they understood the concept. >> they understood the concept. easy,nderstand it was not too. >> coming up, how today's musicians turn into business titans. >> i'm impressed by it. ♪

>> 20 years ago, i was a big fan of your music. i would have gone to tower records and bought an lp album. now, you just download it online. how do you feel about that? >> the model is changing, obviously. >> i don't think it is necessarily the one that will be there in 5-10 years. we need something that is more equitable for musicians. musicians need to be paid for the work. i've made my money. i'm well off.

young artists beginning and the idea of making a living out of this business is tough. the streaming model is a good one. but we also need to be paid. >> you are on the streaming services. you haven't opted out. in some ways, do you support the model? >> i think they are evolving. i was interested in taylor swift's stand. i thought it was a brave stand. taylor swift brought it into public debate. that was good. people need to talk about this. what is good for music? music is important to our society. it must not die out. >> you agree with her move? >> it is good to start the debate. whether she goes back to spotify , it is up to her. but i think to raise the debate , was a good move.

>> when that happened, it created some seismic changes. >> a lot of people have no idea there is any issue, that musicians need to be paid. >> on the other side, people have said, why should artists feel like they have any right to be making tons and tons of money like they have in the past? >> not tons and tons of money. it is making a living. in this industry, you could make a killing, but not a living. >> you think more artists should swift? k, like taylor >> i think the streaming companies have got the idea. they are working as best as they can to make it better. it is evolving. every day is different. i'm intrigued. i'm glad i'm not starting out now in the music industry. it would be tough. >> would you be able to make as much money if you started out today? >> no. i have no guilt about making extravagant amounts of money, i did that at the time, but i

worked hard for it. i'm still working on it. [laughter] >> and you are still out there taking risks. the reason i'm mentioning it, paul mccartney, the beatles, peter gabriel, some of your appears have opted not to allow their catalogs to be streamed on the services. is there a responsibility of older artists to more established artist to take stands like that? to say, we object to this? >> i have respect for them for doing that. they have raised the debate. i have been waiting. i could see in moving the little -- the whole time. to i do not feel the need jump ship at the moment. >> a metaphor. [laughter] what do you think of the artist today? not just taylor swift. you have made comments about justin bieber. >> no, i haven't.

have i? there is great music out there. there always will be. there needs to be -- what did i say about justin? >> an article from a few years ago. actually, it was just last year. it was when bieber was imploding. you said, "just try to enjoy it. that explosive bit doesn't last forever." you're talking about for young artists. >> yet. i was fortunate. i was in my mid-20's when i became successful. before that, i was a schoolteacher. i paid taxes. i was a parent. i had a mortgage. i had a real life before i have -- before i had a celebrity life. it allowed me to be objective about it and not carried away. i feel sad sometimes when people leave school. they have a hit on "the x factor." then they are vaulted into this

crazy world without anything to compare it to. i do not know how you stay sane in that. unless you had some grounding in real life, it must be very difficult to survive psychologically. >> should the music industry be more responsible towards that? i think you can't blame the music industry and media. society generally vault people into positions that are difficult to sustain. when you are a young person, you become famous and successful, you think you're entitled to that forever. that doesn't help. >> you don't let that get to you? >> no, i didn't. i had a real life before. it may not be possible in this new era, but i'm glad of it. i'm glad of that time.

>> nowadays, people become rock stars or musicians are celebrities on youtube or various other sites or they are on these reality shows like "the x factor" or "the voice." would you join any of those programs? >> i haven't been invited. no. invited? >> no one has invited me, so i don't know. i learned my trade. shop floor. the taking the band and equipment and going from club to club, playing to largely empty rooms, building an audience, a resilience, toughness. that network does not exist anymore. the only way to be successful are these roots. but they are short, they are short-term. i preferred it the way we did it

, as tough as it was. >> these artists today -- jay-z for instance, they have a brand. clothing, fragrance, a sports agency. when you look at that time are you impressed by how business savvy some of these artists are? >> i'm impressed by it. i don't want to necessarily emulate it. i am a musician, not a businessman. i do not have the skill set. i sing. >> you more then saying. you create your music. process ofyour creating songs versus 20 years ago. >> one of the things that attracted me to writing a broadway show was there are very few places you could present a new body of songs in the sequence you want them heard. people now listen to playlists. they don't listen to albums. moorehead, -- more ahead how

vanity keeps this rock legend at the top of his game. >> what is it like at 63 versus 23? >> much more fun. ♪

>> i was reading about the reunion tour for the police. -- 2007-2008. the third highest reunion tour of all time. would you go back on tour? >> it was an exercise in nostalgia. it was successful. but i don't think you could step in the same river twice. i do not need to do that. i'm interested in newer challenges than repeating the same thing. >> what is next for you? after this broadway musical. >> no idea. i imagine whatever i do, there is a something inside this thing

that will have a child. [laughter] >> did you like having a child? having a child? >> it is like having a child. the cannot predict what it is. something will appear. i follow my curiosity more than anything else. i'm curious about music. and still learning about music. i would follow that journey wherever it takes me. even if it is not commercial. >> one of the things i have heard jokes about is -- this relates to being on tour. you have to be physically fit, in good shape, healthy. and sure a lot of you guys watching this interview who are around your age and are very ambitious and a working hard, they want to know -- how do you stay in shape? >> 50% discipline.

50% vanity. [laughter] you need a certain amount of vanity. >> you admit it? >> it is essential. [laughter] >> what is your regime? , do yoga, pilates, stretching, ride my bike. walking my dog who pulls me everywhere. i did not want to go in the cold but i like riding my bike. i've done yoga for almost over 25 years. >> before it became popular. >> yeah. it is connecting the breathing with the spirit and body. i don't think you can separate any of these forms. they are one thing. >> you find time in your day, every day. >> i was an athlete when i was younger.

i was 100 yards runner. i just kept fit. i also do a very physical job on stage. i lose pounds. >> burning up calories on the stage. are wringing wet. >> even for the broadway musical. >> absolutely. ♪ >> you mentioned vanity. 50% vanity. do you worry about aging? >> i enjoy being 63. i'm healthy. either you get older or you die. as long as you keep your health. at 63 versus like 23? >> much more fun. >> really? >> much more fun here and confident about who i am. i know who i am more.

this is my favorite decade. i've had more fun in this decade than any other. >> there is an article where they talk about the midlife crisis. it begins to dissipate after age 50. you get happier and happier as you get older. >> as long as someone find you attractive. [laughter] it be different story if they didn't. >> what is your redline of things you would do to keep yourself good-looking? what would you do or not do? --i would not we are awake wear a wig. i'm happy with my hairline as it is. >> botox? >> i've had botox, yeah. like a line there. it works from the outside in. it stops you worrying. i wouldn't do anything else. >> right, no plastic surgery.

you did it twice. you don't need to do it again. >> >> i don't need to. i'm gorgeous. [laughter] >> you have mentioned, you have gone to a stage in your life where you do not need to work. you're quite wealthy. you mentioned you don't want to leave your kids all this money. trust fund kids. >> has never been an issue in my house. my kids are fiercely independent. they like to work. they do. i would not want to rob them of the privilege of making it on their own. they were well-educated. well fed. they're not expecting anything. why would they? the privilege of making it on your own, making a living is something they value.

>> they never talk about it at all. >> you do not want to. thank you so much. >> nice talking to you.

>> he has built some of the world's biggest pop stars. grande.eiber, ariana it all started when scooter braun stumbled across a youtube video of a kid in a canadian talent show. that kid was justin bieber and braun was the manager who catapulted him to a superstar. as the music industry goes to a tremendous transformation, he is going through his own transformation.