How Much Is DT Worth?

[adamack]

One great thing about the members of DT is that they have always believed in their craft first and foremost, and let their "empire" of success (as JP put it) work itself out. They've never been about money, and put the music and the fans first.

That said, I've still always wondered how much each member of DT is worth.

Each member has his own side projects (solo albums, super groups, instructional videos, instrument line, and other merchandise), so I'm sure that their values are quite different.

I ask this because I think that they deserve to be extremely well-off, and I hope to hear someone estimate that they all have a ton of money. What would you estimate as a range for each member?

I have no idea about actual values, but I can probably guess the order of most well-off to least:

1. JP:  DT Earnings, the infamous "Rock Discipline" instructional, Earnie Ball JP guitar line, solo albums, Liquid Tension Experiment, E3 guitar tour, other miscellaneous stage appearances, artist collaborations, shirts and other merch, and more.

2. JR: DT Earnings, "Keyboard Wizardry" instructional, royalties from audio software/Korg affiliations, solo albums, Liquid Tension Experiment, miscellaneous stage appearances/instructionals, shirts and other merch, artist collaborations, and more.

3. JLB: DT Earnings, solo albums, miscellaneous stage appearances/instructionals, shirts and other merch, artist collaborations, and more.

4. MM: DT Earnings (obviously way less than other members), Berklee earnings, previous bands (Annihilator, Extreme, Vai, MullMuzzler, Tribe of Judah, etc.), instructional books and DVDs/VHS, shirts and other merch, artist collaborations, and more.

5. JM: DT earnings, Progressive Bass Concepts DVD, side projects and artist collaborations, shirts and other merch, and more.

Again, I have no idea if my estimation is correct. I could definitely see MM being worth more than JR and JLB, considering he probably did well with bands like Extreme, who were more in the public eye. And who knows how much he made as a teacher at Berklee.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[FlyingBIZKIT]

$58,000,000

[Daybreak at the lake]

According to https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rock-stars/john-petrucci-net-worth/, JP has a networth of $3.2 million. I believe that have all the members on that site. I think they're all worth a little more than a million dollars, according to that site. Could be wrong though.

[adamack]

According to https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rock-stars/john-petrucci-net-worth/, JP has a networth of $3.2 million. I believe that have all the members on that site. I think they're all worth a little more than a million dollars, according to that site. Could be wrong though.

Awesome, I never knew of this site.

I figured they'd be somewhere around that range, and it's good to hear that JP is doing pretty well. Going to check the rest now.

Thank you!

[gentaishinigami]

It has MP at 8 million! @_@

[JiM-Xtreme]

It has MP at 8 million! @_@

Sounds about right - he had a number one album with A7X after all!

[Setlist Scotty]

One million dollarssssssss. MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!

[Perpetual Change]

It has MP at 8 million! @_@

Yup, for me, that was always the elephant in the room around when MP left the band. All sorts of reasons for the band not wanting to take a break were discussed at length, EXCEPT financial ones. But I had remembered seeing that MP was worth more than all the other guys in the band combined, so for him the prospect of an indefinite hiatus, or even just a three year vacation, probably seemed a lot more tolerable.

[Kotowboy]

It has MP at 8 million! @_@

Sounds about right - he had a number one album with A7X after all!

But if you're the drummer in a band and you didn't write the music and barely composed the drum parts - you'd get hardly anything.

It's more likely to be from his endless DVDs - and being one of the main writers / producer for DT and going on tour playing the songs that you

have a writing / producing credit on and releasing DVDs of songs that you wrote / produced etc etc. And drum cam / instructional DVDs etc.

[Perpetual Change]

MP most definitely was getting paid for his tour with A7X.

[Shadow2222]

MP most definitely was getting paid for his tour with A7X.

Yeah, but not millions of dollars. I bet he still got a hefty chunk of change, around $200,000-$500,000 or so.

[adamack]

It has MP at 8 million! @_@

Whoa! I would have guessed maybe 3 million or so. I wonder what the "x-factor" is for him. As mentioned, he definitely got some good money with AX7, but I don't really see him making much more than a million (plus residuals he'll continue to get, unless he was a "work for hire") with them. If he was in fact hired as a "work for hire", maybe they just paid him a small fortune up front, since he wouldn't be receiving future royalties in this case.

I guess it has to do with all of the promotions and sponsorship that he is subjected to from all of the magazines and such that he is in.

Or, maybe he inherited a fortune when his father passed? Or he may just be good with handling his investments...Okay I'll stop. 

It has MP at 8 million! @_@

Yup, for me, that was always the elephant in the room around when MP left the band. All sorts of reasons for the band not wanting to take a break were discussed at length, EXCEPT financial ones. But I had remembered seeing that MP was worth more than all the other guys in the band combined, so for him the prospect of an indefinite hiatus, or even just a three year vacation, probably seemed a lot more tolerable.

Very true, great point... I never realized this. Definitely much easier for MP to be able to take a long break (wasn't sure how long the break was, but just watched TSCO 2 nights ago and JR mentioned he wanted 5 years.)

[adamack]

Two other notable things after reading about his net worth on Celebrity Networth:

- MP has a much more extensive collection of instructional videos than the rest of the band, highlighted by his "drum cam" DVD's

- His induction as second youngest member (youngest at one point if I recall) into the Modern Drummers Hall Of Fame likely got him a ton of publicity and lots of non-DT fans probably discovered him, broadening his fan base.

- This is pure speculation and may be false, but I wonder if MP got a bigger chunk of DT profits since he was "in charge" of so much for the band?

[Perpetual Change]

- This is pure speculation and may be false, but I wonder if MP got a bigger chunk of DT profits since he was "in charge" of so much for the band?

Well, I don't know how DT in particular work, but from what I can tell, those notes in the album booklets aren't just FYI's. Titles MP and JP wear like "producer" aren't just ceremonial things, but typically would come with some kind of compensation. Same goes for the credits for music writing and lyric writing. If the music to a song is credited to "Dream Theater", I'd guess that means everyone's getting paid for it. If it's instead credited to just a few guys in the band, like some DT albums are,  then I'd suspect only the people credited get royalties.

I'd imagine all this stuff (royalties, compensation as the album's "producer", plus whatever else) is all in addition to whatever the guys are salaried (I'm pretty sure they're salaried).

[TheAtliator]

I would think the number one income for every member hands down is being on tour with DT, just from the types of things I hear. Not that I would know at all, really.

[krieger]

One million dollarssssssss. MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!

I wonder how KM lives. Royalties? A full-time job? I wonder... 

[Perpetual Change]

I would think the number one income for every member hands down is being on tour with DT, just from the types of things I hear. Not that I would know at all, really.

For a lot of bands, yeah, touring is the bread and butter. For DT, I dunno. I think the machine is a bit more well maintained, so that it can keep going a few years regardless of whether the band tours or not. But yeah, I'm sure an indefinite hiatus would have messed that up.

[mikeyd23]

Well, I don't know how DT in particular work, but from what I can tell, those notes in the album booklets aren't just FYI's. Titles MP and JP wear like "producer" aren't just ceremonial things, but typically would come with some kind of compensation. Same goes for the credits for music writing and lyric writing. If the music to a song is credited to "Dream Theater", I'd guess that means everyone's getting paid for it. If it's instead credited to just a few guys in the band, like some DT albums are,  then I'd suspect only the people credited get royalties.

I'd imagine all this stuff (royalties, compensation as the album's "producer", plus whatever else) is all in addition to whatever the guys are salaried (I'm pretty sure they're salaried).

I wonder why MP's worth is estimated over twice JP's then?  JP and MP produced DT records together before MP's departure and I'm sure, without actually checking right now, that JP has gotten at least as much writing credit for music and lyrics over the years as MP did, I'm guessing more....

Maybe all that extra stuff MP did for DT, but I find it hard to believe that earned him that much extra cash, I'm honestly a little surprised his number is so much greater than JP's.

[goo-goo]

Well MP tours a lot with other different bands: Transatlantic might be another good source of income since it has a bigger following, followed by Flying Colors, Winery Dogs and AMob. Also, the TA, FC, and WD toured Europe, where his rates might be a bit higher. Also, touring with Neal Morse might help out a bit financially. Those bands (except amob) have a huge following and their shows sell out. Include merch and the meet and greets. That's good money right there.

And JP, outside DT, he only had LTE and G3, which they tour rather sporadically.

[CodyWanKenobi]

Yeah, I think it's safe to say that MP is involved in MANY more things than anyone else in the band, which would definitely point toward him making more money.

[mikeyd23]

Yeah, I think it's safe to say that MP is involved in MANY more things than anyone else in the band, which would definitely point toward him making more money.

True, I guess I don't really get into MP's projects that much so I didn't think of that.  Transatlantic, Flying Colors, and his work with Neal Morse have probably made him some money.  I doubt AMOB was a big money maker, and The Winery Dogs are so new I'm thinking his net worth posted on that site probably doesn't reflect that yet.  I guess I'm just surprised that those projects gave him that much income, I can understand him having more than JP because of them, it was just how much more that surprised me.

[CodyWanKenobi]

But then he's got all of those drum DVDs, not to mention his cover band releases, the YtseJam releases (which I'm sure he made more money on than the other guys since he put them all together and stuff). He's also got signature snare drums and cymbals and sticks.

[goo-goo]

Yeah, I think it's safe to say that MP is involved in MANY more things than anyone else in the band, which would definitely point toward him making more money.

True, I guess I don't really get into MP's projects that much so I didn't think of that.  Transatlantic, Flying Colors, and his work with Neal Morse have probably made him some money.  I doubt AMOB was a big money maker, and The Winery Dogs are so new I'm thinking his net worth posted on that site probably doesn't reflect that yet.  I guess I'm just surprised that those projects gave him that much income, I can understand him having more than JP because of them, it was just how much more that surprised me.

Also, keep in mind that those figures in that celebrity website maybe just estimates. MP might not be worth 8 mill, maybe something lower, but he is definitely worth more than the other DT guys just based on his touring and work output. Could be close to 5 mill. I don't know.

[mikeyd23]

But then he's got all of those drum DVDs, not to mention his cover band releases, the YtseJam releases (which I'm sure he made more money on than the other guys since he put them all together and stuff). He's also got signature snare drums and cymbals and sticks.

Yep thats true! I'm guessing the drum DVDs and YtseJam releases made him some money.  Especially those in studio drum DVDs, talk about a product that is super low cost to create! A couple video cameras in studio, edit those together, put the studio audio on top and sell it!  As far as the signature drum gear goes, thats a good point but once again JP has signature guitar gear as well.

Also, keep in mind that those figures in that celebrity website maybe just estimates. MP might not be worth 8 mill, maybe something lower, but he is definitely worth more than the other DT guys just based on his touring and work output. Could be close to 5 mill. I don't know.

Oh yeah, I'm not saying this website is completely accurate, I'd be surprised if they were! But, like I said it just caught my eye the large difference between MP and JP, no big deal just sparked some curiosity on my part.

[Madman Shepherd]

That website is a bunch of crap.  They probably have some very general guidelines to make estimates.  I doubt they have any insider information. 

[rumborak]

I honestly suspect that all the website does is to check Google Trends, and multiply that number with some factor.

[cramx3]

MP was definitely worth more than the rest because the guy gets more credits for DTs work than the rest.  Also the Avenged thing made him tons of money.  It was always my thought as to why he wanted out of DT, he thought he could make more and do less elsewhere.

[gentaishinigami]

MP could also just be really bitchin at investing his money!

But yeah he also has a ton of signature stuff where JP only had the music man guitar for a long while.  He's got signature picks and that one TC Electronics pedal now, but ya, maybe that had a bit to do with it too.

[nicbor87]

But then he's got all of those drum DVDs, not to mention his cover band releases, the YtseJam releases (which I'm sure he made more money on than the other guys since he put them all together and stuff). He's also got signature snare drums and cymbals and sticks.

I don't think theres millions to be had with YtseJam Records. Especially the "Drum Cam" releases are hard to find even on eBay, which indicates that there's not a lot of them out there.

I would bet my money on sponsorship/signature products - but then, JP is underrated with 1 million (Ernie Ball). I guess the truth is somewhere in the middle here - MP at about 6 million, JP at 4 to 5 million. The numbers might be accurate for the other members, but I do believe JP is worth more than 1 mil.

[CodyWanKenobi]

Maybe he's a spender.

haha.

[Mebert78]

One million dollarssssssss. MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!

I wonder how KM lives. Royalties? A full-time job? I wonder... 

I've wondered this too.  How much royalities come in from WDADU, I&A, and Awake?  With DT retaining popularity, and possibly becoming more popular as the years go on, the back catalogue will continute to sell more and more.  But I have no idea how much a royalty is.

[detemete]

That website is probably the most unreliable thing in the world. Would take any figure on it with a grain of salt.

[N4Player]

Their music is priceless, so whatever they are paid or worth is too little.

[AngelBack]

I don't know how equipment endorsements work.  I always assumed it meant free equipment.  But is it possible artists receive money as well ?  I am sure that in the drumming world MP was the hottest endorsement out there for many years and I would not be surprised if Tama kicked in a nice sum.

[Marion Crane]

Not sure about their worth, but I'd venture a guess they're getting somewhere in the neighborhood of $30k per show guarantee here in the US