Dan & Phil Part 98: forever home!!1!!!

[Imlost]

I don't know anything about touring and how lucrative it could've been for them, but I do remember Cody Ko and Noel Miller talking a little about their experiences on touring. They said that it really isn't a thing that makes a bunch of money, and that it is rather quite expensive. They also mentioned that apparently quite a popular artist(Lady gaga??) lost almost everything on her tour, because it was so expensive. Although apparently that tour was really extravagant, and I don't know at what point of her career that happened.
That said, I'm sure dnp were smart with their touring and like many people have said long time ago, the merch sales at every stop were probably a big profit.

Also, I noticed something that really isn't relevant or important, but made me wonder nonetheless That being, when did Phil stop saying in his tweets about his new videos "retweet for (something relevant) emojis". I remember it being staple Phil thing that he did, and I just suddenly realised he has stopped it. Turns out, I'm very late to this realisation, because if I'm correct, the last time Phil did that was 31.3.2018 for their easter baking video. After that he has a couple tweets with something like "retweet for good luck", and then nothing about retweeting. Also, seems like he never did that thing when announcing gaming videos.
But yeah, just something I thought and became curious about

[rizzo]

I don't know anything about touring and how lucrative it could've been for them, but I do remember Cody Ko and Noel Miller talking a little about their experiences on touring. They said that it really isn't a thing that makes a bunch of money, and that it is rather quite expensive. They also mentioned that apparently quite a popular artist(Lady gaga??) lost almost everything on her tour, because it was so expensive. Although apparently that tour was really extravagant, and I don't know at what point of her career that happened.
That said, I'm sure dnp were smart with their touring and like many people have said long time ago, the merch sales at every stop were probably a big profit.

I've definitely think (based on public numbers as well as personal experience) that Dan and Phil's touring profits didn't necessarily come from ticket sales - especially given the times they mentioned difficulty booking venues - and were probably primarily those merch sales.

I've been to plenty of live shows and have never seen anything quite like the merch lines for Dan and Phil. IIRC, they would sell out of a lot of merch at shows and had to really limit their stock per location. The lines felt endless - like I'd go so far as to say 90% of the crowd bought something at the merch stands.

I also got the impression they weren't out for ticket sale money anyway. Perhaps I put too much faith in Dan and Phil as Good Eggs, but much like their reasons behind publishing that first book, I think they truly did want to tour for the sake of meeting their fans around the world. Dan's ranted about this a handful of times, but one liveshow stands out to me where he mentioned his frustration with conventions limiting people's ability to see/meet their favorite creator to those who could make it to California and/or Florida etcetc. So, for D&P, while obviously there's always money tied into these things, I think they went on tour in part to offer as many people as possible a fair opportunity to see them. ......ALSO - Dan's a literal drama queen. That kid has wanted to be on a stage since before he knew what a stage was lbr. So touring was probs also 20% self-indulgence.

All this to say, I'm sure touring was a massive expense (both monetarily, but probs also mentally re: booking the whole thing themselves) , but I'm also sure they made BANK on those merch sales.

[soveinco]

Dan's a literal drama queen. That kid has wanted to be on a stage since before he knew what a stage was lbr.

God, so true. I kind of vaguely understood that from various things he said about friend groups, etc., but I didn't GET IT-get it until I saw the lovingly compiled list of ALL HIS ROLES EVER on 12-year-old Dan's website, and then I was like, oh, you were a FULL-ON theater kid! (Because I was one too, so very much takes one to know one.)

He looks so ridiculously happy during the whole show-biz performance that is "The Internet Is Here." A theater kid in their element for sure.

I was actually just rewatching The Internet Is Here the other day, and I think it's really interesting (in terms of personas) that even though it was Dan's "thing" that they should end the show on a song (and he says that during the documentary), within the frame narrative of the show, it's Phil who starts the song and then says he wants someone to join him, and Dan is like *sigh* OK fine I'll join in too . . .

It reminded me of how I was talking to someone the other day about how it's still a part of their personas (even now) that Phil is like, the bubbly excited one and Dan is the "OK fine I'll join in too" one, and my friend takes it at face value (she genuinely thinks of Dan as putting up with Phil, which I don't agree with at all, but I can see where she gets that impression on a surface level), whereas I feel like it's mostly just part of their banter/onscreen shtick. If Dan doesn't want to do something with Phil, presumably he doesn't do it (see: YouTube, 2019-2020), and if he does something with him, presumably it's because he wants to (see also: how he went out of his way to say in the last Stereo that he was happy to be there, enjoying it, etc.).

Though I would love more than anything to hear them talk about, for example, how they balanced the editing workload on the gaming videos over the years, if they came up with ideas more or less 50/50 or if one of them was more of a driving force, and if it changed over time, etc. Being in a relationship is hard. Working on projects together is hard. Working on projects with someone you're in a relationship with can go HORRIBLY WRONG in so many ways. How did they manage to keep things balanced and functional over the years?? They'll probably never tell. But . . . I would like to know, haha.

[inanerat]

Plus we know from what Dan said - I think in the first stereo? Maybe? - the publishing company came to him, not the other way around.

This had been on my mind reading through this conversation too so I riffled through some timestamps to go find what Dan said about it.

In the Phil and Phriends show with Dan (some of the talk cut from Phil's video), he says this about the book process:
Book talk over all starts around 46:30 on IDB video.

Harper-Collins were basically like 'Dan, what if you do a book that is about the stuff that helps people but you actually make it enjoyable and easy to read and it's all about you and your life story' and I was like 'Hey, ok, that sounds interesting'. And then we started talking about it and honestly, thinking about mental health, which is a serious topic, as much as we love to meme, there are so many things that all of us probably do not understand that we could be doing better just to be happier and when I started thinking about this it was one of those moments where I was like 'I genuinely, I can't not do this, because I genuinely think that this can help so many people that might read it, that it has to be something that I do.' so I was like 'Yes, ok, I'm doing this book.' and there we go.

It's not 100% clear to me how it all went down, but it does seem like he was approached by the publisher, idk how specific the book idea was when they initially reached out, it may have evolved collaboratively, but I would assume that does change dynamics in sorting out a book deal and what an author will make from it. It's also interesting to note though that he does talk about feeling like it's something he need/should do because of it's potential to help people, so like tabinof he may have been less invested in making loads off of it and more doing it for the possibility of what the book can do for people, as well as, imo, the creative stretch it is for him and something more for the beefy entertainer/writer resume.

[alittledizzy]

I don't know anything about touring and how lucrative it could've been for them, but I do remember Cody Ko and Noel Miller talking a little about their experiences on touring. They said that it really isn't a thing that makes a bunch of money, and that it is rather quite expensive. They also mentioned that apparently quite a popular artist(Lady gaga??) lost almost everything on her tour, because it was so expensive. Although apparently that tour was really extravagant, and I don't know at what point of her career that happened.
That said, I'm sure dnp were smart with their touring and like many people have said long time ago, the merch sales at every stop were probably a big profit.

I've definitely think (based on public numbers as well as personal experience) that Dan and Phil's touring profits didn't necessarily come from ticket sales - especially given the times they mentioned difficulty booking venues - and were probably primarily those merch sales.

I've been to plenty of live shows and have never seen anything quite like the merch lines for Dan and Phil. IIRC, they would sell out of a lot of merch at shows and had to really limit their stock per location. The lines felt endless - like I'd go so far as to say 90% of the crowd bought something at the merch stands.

I also got the impression they weren't out for ticket sale money anyway. Perhaps I put too much faith in Dan and Phil as Good Eggs, but much like their reasons behind publishing that first book, I think they truly did want to tour for the sake of meeting their fans around the world. Dan's ranted about this a handful of times, but one liveshow stands out to me where he mentioned his frustration with conventions limiting people's ability to see/meet their favorite creator to those who could make it to California and/or Florida etcetc. So, for D&P, while obviously there's always money tied into these things, I think they went on tour in part to offer as many people as possible a fair opportunity to see them. ......ALSO - Dan's a literal drama queen. That kid has wanted to be on a stage since before he knew what a stage was lbr. So touring was probs also 20% self-indulgence.

All this to say, I'm sure touring was a massive expense (both monetarily, but probs also mentally re: booking the whole thing themselves) , but I'm also sure they made BANK on those merch sales.

I'm gonna also throw out there meet and greets - I think those are a pretty good padding for personality-based touring artists. Dan and Phil spent an extra hour and a half greeting 200-ish people at at least $100 a pop and I think that was probably tour income they could reliably count on since those sold out in under five minutes every. single. time.

[starsandshards]

Though I would love more than anything to hear them talk about, for example, how they balanced the editing workload on the gaming videos over the years, if they came up with ideas more or less 50/50 or if one of them was more of a driving force, and if it changed over time, etc. Being in a relationship is hard. Working on projects together is hard. Working on projects with someone you're in a relationship with can go HORRIBLY WRONG in so many ways. How did they manage to keep things balanced and functional over the years?? They'll probably never tell. But . . . I would like to know, haha.

i would also like to know, but i feel we will be left continuing to wonder about it, for a few years at least. their relationship is so strong. i know therapy must've helped along the way but also just that they must readily communicate with each other... it's so admirable.

maybe they've has countless times where it nearly all fell apart, or maybe they're just so attuned it's less of an effort/hard work and just... works? I DUNNO MAN. they're goals tbh.

[oriharakaoru]

Though I would love more than anything to hear them talk about, for example, how they balanced the editing workload on the gaming videos over the years, if they came up with ideas more or less 50/50 or if one of them was more of a driving force, and if it changed over time, etc. Being in a relationship is hard. Working on projects together is hard. Working on projects with someone you're in a relationship with can go HORRIBLY WRONG in so many ways. How did they manage to keep things balanced and functional over the years?? They'll probably never tell. But . . . I would like to know, haha.

i would also like to know, but i feel we will be left continuing to wonder about it, for a few years at least. their relationship is so strong. i know therapy must've helped along the way but also just that they must readily communicate with each other... it's so admirable.

maybe they've has countless times where it nearly all fell apart, or maybe they're just so attuned it's less of an effort/hard work and just... works? I DUNNO MAN. they're goals tbh.

it's interesting because we know basically nothing besides what they've chosen to put in their vids over the years, BUT i feel like phil kind of alluded to it a little in his dml2 when he talked about becoming a sphere. the little we can glean from that is somewhere in the area of him being a workaholic and maybe extrapolating not spending /as/ much time on his relationship (or as he put it, personal life).

i think dan's hiatus (and phil obviously stepping back from dapg too) really helped. like they could re-focus on them as a couple rather than business partners/comedy duo for basically all of 2019 and 2020. phil did lots of solo projects beyond his videos (like the gaychester podcast and vidcon london 2020 by himself). and of course there was japan 2.0...

it'll be interesting to see if any little scraps show up in ywgttn. i am definitely not expecting lots of juicy info, but maybe something along the line of phil's dml2 or, if we're really lucky, how dan talked about phil in BIG.

[Levitating]

You just made me re-visit Dan's website and I DIE. He's sense of humour / his self-deprecating humour mixed with "I am fabulous bitch" is all there. It reminded me of that Karekano's character who seemed full of of himself but was actually really vulnerable and beautiful inside ( https://data.whicdn.com/images/290573240/original.gif). It also made me think that perhaps, as a 13 year old or however old he was at the time, I may have struggled to "like" someone who appeared so assured of himself lol - being myself, as any 13 year old, usually, a ball of anxiety w self-esteem issues.


Aaand. This:

maybe they've has countless times where it nearly all fell apart, or maybe they're just so attuned it's less of an effort/hard work and just... works? I DUNNO MAN. they're goals tbh.

Truly, it is so incredible. That's where my doubts come from! How can this be? How can they be?

[shan]

Though I would love more than anything to hear them talk about, for example, how they balanced the editing workload on the gaming videos over the years, if they came up with ideas more or less 50/50 or if one of them was more of a driving force, and if it changed over time, etc. Being in a relationship is hard. Working on projects together is hard. Working on projects with someone you're in a relationship with can go HORRIBLY WRONG in so many ways. How did they manage to keep things balanced and functional over the years?? They'll probably never tell. But . . . I would like to know, haha.

i would also like to know, but i feel we will be left continuing to wonder about it, for a few years at least. their relationship is so strong. i know therapy must've helped along the way but also just that they must readily communicate with each other... it's so admirable.

maybe they've has countless times where it nearly all fell apart, or maybe they're just so attuned it's less of an effort/hard work and just... works? I DUNNO MAN. they're goals tbh.

I think it really depends of the individual relationship how well working together goes. I've got a friend who works with her partner and they don't have any problems with it but then you definitely hear horror stories about others. I would be inclined to take Dan's comment from BIG of "we love working together" at face value seeing as they did it for so long over so many different projects (YouTube, radio 1, tours, books etc.) when they really didn't have to. Especially when you consider that their audience were, lets be real, mainly there for joint content. They'd be putting both their relationship and career at risk. If it was a strain on their relationship to work together, there would be no worse idea that going on two world tours either! Can you imagine how niggling little tensions would grow out of control confined to a tour bus and surrounded by other people 24/7 for months?

Not to say I think they're always sunshine and roses but I think for the most part they just have complimentary personalities that work well together personally and professionally.

To the original question, from things they've said off-hand during gaming vids it sounds like they share editing and that it was already decided who's job it was going to be before filming. I wouldn't be surprised if Dan took it on more often though seeing as he wasn't putting out his own videos as regularly as Phil. I also think it was mainly Phil's job to deal with the games etc? I could be making that up but I seem to remember a fair few times Dan would ask if they paid for a game or ask how much it was. It's anyone's guess how legit those comments are though or if they're just for comedic effect.

On another note, super excited for a new Stereo!! After the last few I have literally no idea what to expect.

[fruitcriminals]

I agree with all the above. I read something once and whilst it was about marriages, I'd say 2009-2021 could be reasonably assumed similar - it said marriages have seasons, and I think summers were described as what we'd call the mushy loved up part, and that every marriage is always in transition through the seasons. I feel that with them, always a unit, sometimes things are going better than others. They might be bickering more in lockdown but that's doing a lot better than a lot of other couples after nearly a year in lockdown and tier 4 where you can barely do anything since december.

I'm also excited for the randomness of the stereo! Who even knows at this point what revelations there shall be!

[soveinco]

I would be inclined to take Dan's comment from BIG of "we love working together" at face value seeing as they did it for so long over so many different projects (YouTube, radio 1, tours, books etc.) when they really didn't have to.

Great point! And Dan in particular has gone out of his way to say that (that he loves working with Phil, that he loved the radio show and the gaming channel particularly) . . . basically every time he's talked about the hiatus and what kind of work he enjoys: in the mukbang, in BIG, and in "Something we want to tell you!" (I love that I'm basically, like, saying "gotcha!" to my friend who isn't even here. I was just so taken aback by her interpretation of them. But then again, she's like, a more casual fan and not a fandom person, and doesn't sit here writing essays about their interpersonal dynamics, so I can't blame her for the fact she doesn't necessarily pick up on the subtleties of their working relationship, lololol.)

Not to say I think they're always sunshine and roses but I think for the most part they just have complimentary personalities that work well together personally and professionally.

This is the thing that I find soooo fascinating about them working together (and why they'll probably never talk about it): it is entirely intertwined with their personal relationship. Dan posts his first video (with Phil's enthusiastic support and encouragement) three days before they meet. Their first video collab is from the day after they met. In December 2009, Dan is helping Phil film, edit, and annotate another interactive video, six months after Dan's "I think I have a crush on you" comment on Phil's earlier one. "Editing tips" is of course a meme for a reason (we know what u wanted, Dan, and editing tips were NOT the priority) but it's also true! Dan DID learn to edit videos from Phil! (And probably other sources as well, but it only makes sense that it was mostly from Phil.) And then did it as his job, and together for their shared job, for years and years! The only way I can reliably tell their gaming edits apart is by checking if there's puns in the subscription bubble labels. They share a video effects library and a language of sound effects, stock music clips, etc., to the extent that they literally sing them as commentary, probably in real life as well as in actual videos. It's just . . . so much. I get honestly emotional about it, haha.

(Probably because one of my earliest fandoms was John Lennon x Paul McCartney, the intersection of a personal relationship with a creative working relationship is endlessly interesting to me.)

Another work/personal life thing that occurred to me recently, which I'm sure was discussed thoroughly at the time, but I feel like I don't see it mentioned much in relation to the hiatus now (and also I wasn't here then, and watched their videos out of order and so these connections sometimes don't dawn on me until later): they finish the II tour (9/21/18) and go into editing the DVD right away, finish that, and are then exhausted (mukbang posted 10/15/18), [house stuff is maybe already starting at this point, we now know!], then go into Spooky Week (starts posting 10/26/18, but they were presumably working on it for a week or two before), Phil gets sick/headache, passes out, goes to the hospital, etc., on November 4, and one of the things they tell him is to stop overworking, not sleeping, etc. Then they spend December 2018: making the last Pinof, wrapping up Dan vs. Phil, getting the Sims to a stopping place, etc. Like, I wouldn't be surprised if they had already planned most or maybe even all of that wrapping up they did in December before that, but I'd find it hard to believe that the November health scare didn't freak the hell out of both of them, and make them take the idea of a hiatus THAT much more seriously. (Especially because the earlier instance of it which Phil mentions in his "Why I went to hospital" video was in . . . January 2010, so Dan was probably like, wow, I find the love of my life and actually get together with him, and three months later he's in the hospital and I'm 300 miles away. DON'T LOVE THAT.)

Just had to get that all out before NEW STEREO HITS and we must devote all attention to that. (Can't wait!! RIP my work ethic, since they are at 4pm my time.)

[casualsun]

I would be inclined to take Dan's comment from BIG of "we love working together" at face value seeing as they did it for so long over so many different projects (YouTube, radio 1, tours, books etc.) when they really didn't have to.

Great point! And Dan in particular has gone out of his way to say that (that he loves working with Phil, that he loved the radio show and the gaming channel particularly) . . . basically every time he's talked about the hiatus and what kind of work he enjoys: in the mukbang, in BIG, and in "Something we want to tell you!" (I love that I'm basically, like, saying "gotcha!" to my friend who isn't even here. I was just so taken aback by her interpretation of them. But then again, she's like, a more casual fan and not a fandom person, and doesn't sit here writing essays about their interpersonal dynamics, so I can't blame her for the fact she doesn't necessarily pick up on the subtleties of their working relationship, lololol.)

Not to say I think they're always sunshine and roses but I think for the most part they just have complimentary personalities that work well together personally and professionally.

This is the thing that I find soooo fascinating about them working together (and why they'll probably never talk about it): it is entirely intertwined with their personal relationship. Dan posts his first video (with Phil's enthusiastic support and encouragement) three days before they meet. Their first video collab is from the day after they met. In December 2009, Dan is helping Phil film, edit, and annotate another interactive video, six months after Dan's "I think I have a crush on you" comment on Phil's earlier one. "Editing tips" is of course a meme for a reason (we know what u wanted, Dan, and editing tips were NOT the priority) but it's also true! Dan DID learn to edit videos from Phil! (And probably other sources as well, but it only makes sense that it was mostly from Phil.) And then did it as his job, and together for their shared job, for years and years! The only way I can reliably tell their gaming edits apart is by checking if there's puns in the subscription bubble labels. They share a video effects library and a language of sound effects, stock music clips, etc., to the extent that they literally sing them as commentary, probably in real life as well as in actual videos. It's just . . . so much. I get honestly emotional about it, haha.

(Probably because one of my earliest fandoms was John Lennon x Paul McCartney, the intersection of a personal relationship with a creative working relationship is endlessly interesting to me.)

Another work/personal life thing that occurred to me recently, which I'm sure was discussed thoroughly at the time, but I feel like I don't see it mentioned much in relation to the hiatus now (and also I wasn't here then, and watched their videos out of order and so these connections sometimes don't dawn on me until later): they finish the II tour (9/21/18) and go into editing the DVD right away, finish that, and are then exhausted (mukbang posted 10/15/18), [house stuff is maybe already starting at this point, we now know!], then go into Spooky Week (starts posting 10/26/18, but they were presumably working on it for a week or two before), Phil gets sick/headache, passes out, goes to the hospital, etc., on November 4, and one of the things they tell him is to stop overworking, not sleeping, etc. Then they spend December 2018: making the last Pinof, wrapping up Dan vs. Phil, getting the Sims to a stopping place, etc. Like, I wouldn't be surprised if they had already planned most or maybe even all of that wrapping up they did in December before that, but I'd find it hard to believe that the November health scare didn't freak the hell out of both of them, and make them take the idea of a hiatus THAT much more seriously. (Especially because the earlier instance of it which Phil mentions in his "Why I went to hospital" video was in . . . January 2010, so Dan was probably like, wow, I find the love of my life and actually get together with him, and three months later he's in the hospital and I'm 300 miles away. DON'T LOVE THAT.)

Just had to get that all out before NEW STEREO HITS and we must devote all attention to that. (Can't wait!! RIP my work ethic, since they are at 4pm my time.)

Wow, I love this whole post. Hard agree on everything you’ve said. They don’t just do YouTube together, they literally met through YouTube and have been making videos together literally when they first met. Their professional life and personal life has always been bound together. They went through a phase in 2011-2013 of trying to distance themselves professionally a bit, but they never could fully do it. I guess they also distanced professionally in 2019 and 2020. But it will always be a part of their relationship, and has been since the start.

[alittledizzy]

[somelikeitpink]

Am i spying.... them sharing new house content? I am here for it

[inanerat]

Ok I know stereo show is soon but does anyone have some time for wire analysis?? The white and yellow wires in the foreground look like electrical ones to me (the thicc triple/quadruple boys) but the ones in the back?? I tend to associate especially the dark blue with computer/internet stuff, but I'm no expert and I also don't know if those kinds of things are different in the UK.

What I'm saying is I would like any potential electrician nerd to explain this to me. Or not. Maybe Dan will talk about it on the live show.

[starsandshards]

Ok I know stereo show is soon but does anyone have some time for wire analysis?? The white and yellow wires in the foreground look like electrical ones to me (the thicc triple/quadruple boys) but the ones in the back?? I tend to associate especially the dark blue with computer/internet stuff, but I'm no expert and I also don't know if those kinds of things are different in the UK.

What I'm saying is I would like any potential electrician nerd to explain this to me. Or not. Maybe Dan will talk about it on the live show.

wire analysis, you say?

well, buckle up!

they're all electrical wires. that's it. that's my knowledge.

(sorry couldn't resist)

[shan]

Phil's insta stories... We get it guys, you're in love

[inanerat]

Ok I know stereo show is soon but does anyone have some time for wire analysis?? The white and yellow wires in the foreground look like electrical ones to me (the thicc triple/quadruple boys) but the ones in the back?? I tend to associate especially the dark blue with computer/internet stuff, but I'm no expert and I also don't know if those kinds of things are different in the UK.

What I'm saying is I would like any potential electrician nerd to explain this to me. Or not. Maybe Dan will talk about it on the live show.

wire analysis, you say?

well, buckle up!

they're all electrical wires. that's it. that's my knowledge.

(sorry couldn't resist)

good 2 know.

Rare gem from pinof 4: "I can't quit you, wires!"

[onceinaugust]

Talking about dogs and interior design on the stereo today? It's like they know the fastest way to my heart...
Also I wish Phil's first story hadn't cut off, because I'd love to know who they thought made more excuses.

[plinthofmylife]

Dan and phil just out there doing couple instagram filters

[chiccola]

I'm just here to scream about "Spider visiting us in our sleep"

[elipie]

I haven't given into Stereo yet so will listen to it once it's on YouTube, but just here to say that Phil's instagram stories might genuinely be the most openly coupley thing I've ever seen from them, and that is saying a LOT.

[inanerat]

new dnp era is the marriage energy era

also Dan ending the show with ttfn made me laugh, do people still use that anymore??

[wesleywyndcm]

bless them for this show honestly, i'm in a major depressive slump but this made me genuinely happy

[rizzo]

good grief, i love these 2 men so much. so so much. that is all.