Kanye doesn't like poor people

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Pollstar announces the top 100 grossing tours of 2008 (so far).

Yeah, we here at Impose like to bitch about Radiohead pretending they're for the fans by giving away their records only to charge the 53rd highest grossing ticket price among touring musicians this year ($42.25). But that's nothing compared to Kanye West's $62.82, which landed him 6th on the list. To be fair, these are both examples of artists who toured quite often in 2008, whereas those with fewer-yet-bigger shows — like Jay-Z/Mary J. Blige, George Michael and the reformed Eagles and Van Halen — all came in with an average ticket price of over $100 a pop.

We were also surprised to note that Anne Murray made the list (and is still alive), along with everyone on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour (and rednecks still associate with them), Les Claypool (the jam band thing must be working for him), the Christian phenom Casting Crowns (they still pass the collection plate at concerts), Pearl Jam (can you BELIEVE Ticketmaster's gall?!) and Tiesto (actually, that's not so bad).

In case you were curious if any independent artists made the list, we've posted an audio clip so you can hear them for yourself. You might be surprised to find your favorite band on this track, we know we were.

Independent bands on Pollstar's Top 100 First-Half Grossing Tours of 2008

[Download it]

If you want to actually read Pollstar's story and download the entire list, just click here