Shares of concert promoter and ticket seller Live Nation Entertainment Inc. sank Tuesday after Benjamin Mogil, an analyst for Stifel Nicolaus, lowered his rating on Live Nation to "Hold" from "Buy" over worries that any gains from the improving concert business are going straight to increasing artist costs.

A few months back, Live Nation entertainment confirmed what most industry observers already knew... Ticket sales in 2010 have not been good and that has reverbed in both the primary and secondary ticket markets. . The company's spokespersons then suggested that this could lead to lower ticket prices, but it may not be that simple.

Due to a very weak summer concert season due to economic uncertainty this year, Live Nation Entertainment says it doesn't have a star lineup for the rest of the year. U2 has delayed a North American tour while its lead singer, Bono, recovers from back surgery and, on top of that, major acts including The Eagles, Rihanna and Simon and Garfunkel have axed or postponed tours due to terrible ticket sales.

Mogil wrote that he thinks the concert industry's problem is not one of low ticket demand but rather it's artists with limited appeal are over-booking too many tour stops to make up for dropping record royalties. The analyst said he would like to see signs that the industry is committed to reducing artist payment guarantees. Live Nation's stock fell 64 cents, or 6.5 percent, to $9.19 in last week's trading.