Shares of Ticketmaster Entertainment dropped 28 percent Tuesday, a day after the event ticketing and marketing company reported third quarter net income dropped 76 percent in part due to lower ticket sales, higher royalty payments and acquisition costs.

Los Angeles-based Ticketmaster reported after Monday’s market close net income of $9.6 million (17 cents per share), compared with $40.5 million (72 cents) a year ago. Revenues rose 16 percent to $339 million, driven by a 2 percent increase in revenue per primary ticket and new business from its acquisitions of ticketing companies TicketsNow and Paciolan. Ticketmaster sold 33.7 million tickets during the quarter, 1.5 percent fewer than a year earlier.

Ticketmaster, which is gearing up for a challenge from Live Nation Inc. in the ticketing space, also announced that it will drop its unpopular “convenience” charges for tickets at some events in an experiment. The charges are split between Ticketmaster and venue owners, although artists and promoters sometimes get a cut.

New Chief Executive Irving Azoff, a veteran music-industry talent manager, had promised to make the ticketing giant more friendly to consumers. Ticketmaster, which spun off from IAC two months ago, last month acquired a controlling equity interest in Azoff's Front Line Management Group to create Ticketmaster Entertainment.

Shares of Ticketmaster closed down $2.19 to $5.58 on the Nasdaq.