The restriction of alcohol sales at outdoor music events creates a market inequality in the sense that alcohol manufacturers lose out on their competitive advantage to substitute products such as soft drinks. Outdoor music events take place very frequently in the country and they represent high marketing traffic opportunities for corporations. By imposing such regulations, the government seeks to avoid the detrimental effects that alcohol consumption can have on society. It seeks to reduce alcoholic beverage sales to minors as well as the risk of overconsumption at such events. However, the same risks apply in public areas that sell alcoholic beverages such as bars and night clubs. The risk of overconsumption can therefore not be fully addressed with a bias to certain market segments.
There have also been cases where legislation was sought to restrict sponsorship of such music events by alcohol drink manufacturers. Such legislation would see these firms lose out on advertising opportunities and further extend the market inequalities. The effects of these legislations are also detrimental to music event organizers and the entertainment industry in general in that they reduce attendance levels. The profits earned, in effect, become diminished. On the other hand, retraction of sales restrictions can allow the firms to aggressively promote their products at the events. This can have a negative outcome if overconsumption is not kept in check.
The uptake of alcoholic beverages elicits a natural desire to consume more of it. If the consumption levels per individual exceed a certain point, an alcoholic drink may qualify as a drug. The need to control the scalability of this trend comes from emerging statistics concerning increased overconsumption at music events. A cost thus has to be incurred by firms to help in preventing the associated health-related dangers to society. The best method of filling the market imperfection gap is by imposing a higher price rate policy that will reduce consumption levels rather than eliminate the supply.