Let's talk about money! A DT's sales thread

[ElliottTamer]

I was reading some random music articles at Wikipedia and came across one that explained how CDs go gold, platinum, multi-platinum or diamond, which lead me to wondering how DT was doing as far as sales are concerned. The DT discography Wikipedia article gives us the position of each album in various countries (most interestingly in the Billboard 200), but those positions are very relative, so I have really no idea how much each album has sold in total. That being said, I know that Images & Words and SFAM have both gone gold (over half a million albums sold) and that BC&SL sold a little over 40000 in its first week.

So I was wondering if anyone out there was better informed. I'm sure any kind of information would be quite interesting, be it first week sales in the US or total sales worldwide.

So we can keep this organized, I'll make a list here and will add the information you bring here:

WDADU -
I&W - around 620000
Awake - around 400000
FII - between 100000 and 150000
SFAM - between 100000 and 150000
SDOIT - between 100000 and 150000
ToT - between 100000 and 150000
Octavarium - between 100000 and 150000
SC - between 100000 and 150000
BC&SL - over 40000 in its first week in the US
ADTOE - (here I was really thinking about pre-orders, if anyone happens to have any (real) numbers)

Total sales = over 10 million worldwide!

(All numbers preceded by "between" or "around" are based on Blob's floppy memory)

[djentlemen]

total sales over 10 million

[BlobVanDam]

I read something more specific for IaW. It was around 620,000 or so? I'd have to find the source. I have a feeling Awake was around 400,000?

I've seen figures for the rest, and they're mostly around 100,000 - 150,000 from what I recall.

[wammabe]

I'm really interested in seeing ADTOE's pre-orders.

[Madman Shepherd]

Metal Sludge used to post Sound Scan numbers which are not meant for the public.  I know SFAM certainly did not sell over half a million.  I think that was around 100,000

[Zook]

I think we should talk about grammar instead.

[ElliottTamer]

Metal Sludge used to post Sound Scan numbers which are not meant for the public.  I know SFAM certainly did not sell over half a million.  I think that was around 100,000

I'm not sure when you got that info, but last year the album was certified gold by the RIAA, which means it sold more than 500000. Could 100000 be the first month sales or something else like that?

[Jamesman42]

thred

[ElliottTamer]

thred

Yeah, fixed that already after Zook's comment... Why do I always mess up the subjects...

And if DT sold 10 million worldwide, that means each album sold averagely 1 million, which means the individual sales numbers really should be going up (or we need some info that considers countries other than the US...)

[hefdaddy42]

Metal Sludge used to post Sound Scan numbers which are not meant for the public.  I know SFAM certainly did not sell over half a million.  I think that was around 100,000

I'm not sure when you got that info, but last year the album was certified gold by the RIAA, which means it sold more than 500000.

Source?  AFAIK, their only album to be certified Gold is I&W.

[BlobVanDam]

According to the RIAA site, it's only IaW that has gone gold (out of their studio albums, that is).

And are you using my guessed figures edited into the OP? Because my memory has the capacity and reliability of a 3.5" floppy disk.

[Madman Shepherd]

Metal Sludge used to post Sound Scan numbers which are not meant for the public.  I know SFAM certainly did not sell over half a million.  I think that was around 100,000

I'm not sure when you got that info, but last year the album was certified gold by the RIAA, which means it sold more than 500000. Could 100000 be the first month sales or something else like that?

I tried looking it up online and when I clicked the link I got a malware warning.  Metal Sludge used to keep updated on all that and post it but the site has been changed and revamped a lot since then. 

If you google "Sludge Scan" and Dream Theater, you may have more luck that I or maybe are more computer savvy to know whether it really is an infected site.

Either way, I distinctly remember them posting those numbers and at the time, maybe this was 2004 or so, their albums hovered around anywhere from 80,000 to 150-200,000.  I can't remember for sure but this was a few years after SFAM was released and I know it wasn't anywhere close to 500,000 then (though my 100,000 figure may be off)

[hefdaddy42]

I remember hearing a few years ago that their albums averaged just over 100,000 units sold in the U.S. with the number averaging around 500,000 worldwide.

[ElliottTamer]

Metal Sludge used to post Sound Scan numbers which are not meant for the public.  I know SFAM certainly did not sell over half a million.  I think that was around 100,000

I'm not sure when you got that info, but last year the album was certified gold by the RIAA, which means it sold more than 500000.

Source?  AFAIK, their only album to be certified Gold is I&W.

The original source was Wikipedia's Metropolis Pt. 2 article, but now I just checked the RIAA site and, as Blob says, only I&W is on their list, though the Metropolis Pt.2 Live DVD is there as well, so maybe that's what was meant by that...

[hefdaddy42]

Metal Sludge used to post Sound Scan numbers which are not meant for the public.  I know SFAM certainly did not sell over half a million.  I think that was around 100,000

I'm not sure when you got that info, but last year the album was certified gold by the RIAA, which means it sold more than 500000.

Source?  AFAIK, their only album to be certified Gold is I&W.

The original source was Wikipedia's Metropolis Pt. 2 article, but now I just checked the RIAA site and, as Blob says, only I&W is on their list, though the Metropolis Pt.2 Live DVD is there as well, so maybe that's what was meant by that...

Not sure.  But the numbers of the criteria are different for DVDs than they are for albums.

[Phantasmatron]

I thought you needed 100,000 sales to go gold in the US.

If I'm right (and I may not be), then you could be overestimating DT's stateside sales by a lot.

[hefdaddy42]

I thought you needed 100,000 sales to go gold in the US.

If I'm right (and I may not be), then you could be overestimating DT's stateside sales by a lot.

I think it's 100,000 for gold in DVDs.  The number of albums for gold certification is 500,000.  Platinum is 1,000,000.  And, of course, diamond is 10,000,000.

[ElliottTamer]

I thought you needed 100,000 sales to go gold in the US.

If I'm right (and I may not be), then you could be overestimating DT's stateside sales by a lot.

I think it's 100,000 for gold in DVDs.  The number of albums for gold certification is 500,000.  Platinum is 1,000,000.  And, of course, diamond is 10,000,000.

hefdaddy's numbers are right.
Source: https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=historyx

[Cruithne]

I thought you needed 100,000 sales to go gold in the US.

If I'm right (and I may not be), then you could be overestimating DT's stateside sales by a lot.

It's 100,000 to go gold in the UK. The amount of sales required for the various certifications varies quite a lot by country.

More information here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_music_recording_certifications

[ZirconBlue]

I think we should talk about grammar instead.

I want to talk about life-long mistakes.

[TL]

In Japan, most if not all of their albums have gone Gold (100,000) or Platinum (250,000).

[BlobVanDam]

In Japan, most if not all of their albums have gone Gold (100,000) or Platinum (250,000).

Japan has great taste in music.

[jayvee]

In addition to the Gold DVD for Metropolis, the RIAA says three DVDs have gone platinum: Score (Octavarium), Tokyo (Images and Words), and Budokan.

I'm looking here for this info: https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH

In he case of videos, Gold means 50,000 and Platinum means 100,000. So if you want to take a wild stab at total sales figures, maybe we can add around a half-million DVDs over time.

I'm looking here for this info: https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=criteria

I hope hefdaddy can take a look at this page and confirm these numbers for DVDs, as his post had said 100,000 as gold for DVDs above.

[hefdaddy42]

I hope hefdaddy can take a look at this page and confirm these numbers for DVDs, as his post had said 100,000 as gold for DVDs above.

How refreshing that you think I can confirm the RIAA's own data that they provide. 

If that's what it is, that's what it is.  I just knew it was a lower number than the album numbers.  I got it wrong.

[bosk1]

hefdaddy42 fact:  An album is gold when hefdaddy42 says it is.

You're welcome, Britny.

[BlobVanDam]

I HEFDADDY HEREBY DECLARE THAT SCENES FROM A MEMORY HAS NOW GONE GOLD. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TRUST? THE GUYS WHO SUE PENSIONERS FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, OR GOD?

[hefdaddy42]

[jayvee]

I just wanted someone to check my work and confirm my observations. I thought the best person to ask was the one whose previous assertion I was discussing. I can do it differently next time.

[TL]

I have always wondered if the RIAA actually bothers keeping up to date numbers for bands like DT, especially when it comes to albums that have been out for a while. Not for any malicious reason, just out of laziness or apathy.

[BlobVanDam]

I have always wondered if the RIAA actually bothers keeping up to date numbers for bands like DT, especially when it comes to albums that have been out for a while. Not for any malicious reason, just out of laziness or apathy.

I would think it's automated to the point where it doesn't require anyone to specifically give a shit.

[darkshade]

I have always wondered if the RIAA actually bothers keeping up to date numbers for bands like DT, especially when it comes to albums that have been out for a while. Not for any malicious reason, just out of laziness or apathy.

I would think it's automated to the point where it doesn't require anyone to specifically give a shit.

Right. Didn't I&W only go gold recently; like in the last few years? I'm sure no one was keeping track and it was automated

[BlobVanDam]

I have always wondered if the RIAA actually bothers keeping up to date numbers for bands like DT, especially when it comes to albums that have been out for a while. Not for any malicious reason, just out of laziness or apathy.

I would think it's automated to the point where it doesn't require anyone to specifically give a shit.

Right. Didn't I&W only go gold recently; like in the last few years? I'm sure no one was keeping track and it was automated

February 02 1995 according to the RIAA database. It would have sold most of those when PMU was a minor hit back in the day, then probably another smaller spike after Awake came out.

[darkshade]

I have always wondered if the RIAA actually bothers keeping up to date numbers for bands like DT, especially when it comes to albums that have been out for a while. Not for any malicious reason, just out of laziness or apathy.

I would think it's automated to the point where it doesn't require anyone to specifically give a shit.

Right. Didn't I&W only go gold recently; like in the last few years? I'm sure no one was keeping track and it was automated

February 02 1995 according to the RIAA database. It would have sold most of those when PMU was a minor hit back in the day, then probably another smaller spike after Awake came out.

Oh, nevermind then. I could have sworn there was recent news of I&W going gold.

**EDIT** maybe it went platinum?

[TL]

There was some talk about SFAM going gold last year, but there don't seem to be any official sources backing it up.

[hefdaddy42]

I have always wondered if the RIAA actually bothers keeping up to date numbers for bands like DT, especially when it comes to albums that have been out for a while. Not for any malicious reason, just out of laziness or apathy.

I would think it's automated to the point where it doesn't require anyone to specifically give a shit.

Right. Didn't I&W only go gold recently; like in the last few years? I'm sure no one was keeping track and it was automated

February 02 1995 according to the RIAA database. It would have sold most of those when PMU was a minor hit back in the day, then probably another smaller spike after Awake came out.

Oh, nevermind then. I could have sworn there was recent news of I&W going gold.

**EDIT** maybe it went platinum?

No.