How Corey Taylor Achieved a Net Worth of $10 Million

If you’re a fan of heavy metal, you’ll know the name Corey Taylor. As the lead vocalist and lyrist of Slipknot and Stone Sour, he’s been at the forefront of the metal scene for nearly 30 years… a position that’s evident from the very healthy state of his bank account. According to the latest information from Celebrity Net Worth, Taylor is currently worth the phenomenal sum of $10 million- a figure that‘s unlikely to surprise anyone familiar with the success of Slipknot, but one that may need a little explaining to anyone who isn’t.

Stone Sour

After developing a passion for music at a young age, Taylor formed his first band, Stone Sour, in 1992. After recording two demos with the band, Taylor was invited to join Slipknot -an opportunity that led him to leave Stone Sour in the middle of recording a demo album with Sean McMahon at SR studios. Five years later, Taylor reunited the band, and in 2002, they dropped their self-titled debut album. The album performed well in the charts, debuting at number 46 on the Billboard 200. Their second album, Come What(ever) May fared even better, debuting at number four on the Billboard 200. Stone Sour’s success has continued to this day, with multiple sellout tours, numerous awards (including 3 Grammy nominations), and over 2.1 million albums sold in the US alone.

Slipknot

Stone Sour may be big in heavy metal circles, but Slipknot is even bigger. If there was ever an explanation for Taylor’s millions, it was his decision to abandon Stone Sour in 1997 (even if only temporarily) and join Slipknot. As lead singer and lyrist, Taylor has been at the heart of the band since their second demo album, and can take much of the credit (and a healthy share of the royalties) for their subsequent success.

To date, Slipknot has recorded 6 studio albums, 2 live albums, 2 compilation albums, 5 video albums, 1 demo album, and released 26 singles. As the following discography highlights, the sales on all their offerings have been phenomenal… and while record sales alone aren’t sufficient to make a fortune these days, they don’t half help.

• Slipknot (1999)
• RIAA: 2× Platinum
• ARIA: Platinum
• BPI: Platinum
• MC: Platinum
• RIAJ: Gold
• Iowa (2001)
• RIAA: Platinum
• ARIA: Gold
• BPI: Platinum
• BVMI: Gold
• MC: Platinum
• RIAJ: Gold
• Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (2004)
• RIAA: Platinum
• ARIA: Platinum
• BPI: Gold
• BVMI: Gold
• MC: Platinum
• RMNZ: Gold
• RIAJ: Gold
• All Hope Is Gone (2008)
• RIAA: Platinum
• ARIA: Gold
• BPI: Gold
• BVMI: Gold
• MC: Platinum
• RMNZ: Gold
• RIAJ: Gold
• The Gray Chapter (2014)
• RIAA: Gold
• ARIA: Gold
• BPI: Gold
• BVMI: Gold
• IFPI AUT: Gold
• MC: Gold
• We Are Not Your Kind (2019)
• BPI: Silver

If we add the sales from live albums and singles to the above, we’re looking at over 30 million units sold worldwide.

Merchandise

When it comes to making money in the music biz, it’s all about the merchandise. Artists who want to cultivate the kind of millions Taylor has would do well to make merchandise their top priority. Not content with raking in the cash from the usual line of baseball hats and keyrings, Slipknot went one step further in 2008 by creating their own clothing line, 'Tattered and Torn'. Despite Taylor claiming the line is simply a way for " [the fans] to get cool clothing at affordable prices", even he won’t dispute the fact band merchandise is their biggest revenue spinner.

Knotfest

If you want to make money from performing live, don’t just go on tour yourself. If you really want to pull in the millions, create your own music festival, form a legendary lineup, then invite fans to part with their cash for the privilege of attending. In 2012, Taylor and the rest of the Slipknot crew created Knotfest, a combination of touring and destination festival that takes place in various venues around the world. For heavy metal fans, it’s the hottest ticket of the year, with lineups that, in previous years, have included some of the biggest names in the business. The Deftones, Marilyn Manson, Judas Priest, Lamb of God, The Offspring, Bring Me The Horizon, Prong, Deadly Apples, Anthrax, Amen, Butcher Babies, Ozzy Osbourne, and Testament are just some of the artists who’ve performed over the years… and with names like that, you can understand why tickets sell at a premium. If ticket sales alone weren’t enough to bring in the big bucks, the band’s decision to broadcast their own closing performance at this year’s event via a pay-per-view streaming website probably is.

Other Activities

If you want to make a mint, it never hurts to look at alternative ways of bringing home the bacon. Rather than restrict his talents solely to music, Taylor’s added several other credits to his resume of late, the chief one being “actor”. In 2013, the singer made a splash on both TV and film when he joined the cast of Fear Clink as Bauer and appeared in the horror film, Bullied. Other acting gigs have included voice-overs on Dr. Who, and guest appearing on Sharknado 4.

The Masked Brotherhood

The music industry is full of one-hit wonders. In an age where artists can go from glory to the gutter almost overnight (and sometimes back to glory by the morning), it takes strength, stamina, and perseverance to keep going… qualities Taylor has in abundance.

In an interview with Kerrang, Taylor revealed he’s come close to walking away from Slipknot on occasions, but the sense of brotherhood he feels with the band has kept him holding on.

“We recognize that it takes work to be in this band and when we’re all going for it,” he said. “There’s an appreciation that maybe before we felt we couldn’t show and the more that we all show that the better it feels as a brotherhood. “There have been moments where I’ve come so close to walking away from this and I’m really glad that I didn’t to be honest,” he continued. “The payoff has been fantastic, especially now that we’re in this really great place and we are performing at a level that is still top-notch.”

And there, in his own words, you have the explanation for those millions. Despite being in the industry for nearly thirty years, Taylor is still pulling no punches when it comes to delivering the goods... and the payoff, as his says, has been fantastic.