How Festival Finance Is Transforming Entertainment Into High-Yield Investment Assets

The entertainment industry’s financial landscape is rapidly evolving, with festivals emerging as sophisticated investment vehicles capable of generating 5-7x returns when managed strategically. Aleksandra Szuszkiewicz, VP of Finance for one of the largest reggae festival brands in the U.S., is at the forefront of this transformation. Her work bridges traditional institutional finance with the dynamic world of live entertainment, creating frameworks that treat festivals not as ephemeral events but as valuable, scalable assets.

In this conversation, Aleksandra shares how her Eastern European background became an unexpected advantage in American finance, why she sees festivals as “living, breathing P&Ls” rather than mere entertainment, and how investors are missing opportunities in the “long tail” of mid-market festivals with cult followings.

You’ve made the transition from Eastern Europe to becoming VP of Finance for one of the largest reggae festival brands in the U.S. What were the biggest cultural and professional barriers you faced entering the American finance industry, and how did your European background actually become an advantage in your career?

Stepping into the American finance industry as someone raised in Eastern Europe was both a culture shock and a catalyst. The initial challenge wasn’t technical — spreadsheets translate universally — it was linguistic and psychological. In the U.S., confidence often walks into the room before credentials. Back home, humility is currency; here, it’s mistaken for doubt. Learning to own my voice without losing my roots was the turning point.

Ironically, my European background became a powerful differentiator. It taught me to do more with less, to look at risk not just as a number but as a narrative. Growing up in a system where uncertainty was the norm honed my ability to forecast, adapt, and design models that aren’t just robust — they’re resilient. That instinct has been invaluable in the festival world, where volatility is both the challenge and the thrill.

Your career path went from traditional private equity analysis to the entertainment industry, a pretty unconventional move. What drew you to festival finance specifically, and how do you apply institutional investment principles to an industry that many still see as “just parties?”

I didn’t leave private equity; I evolved it. What drew me to festival finance wasn’t the music — it was the complexity behind the curtain. Festivals are living, breathing P&Ls: weather, artists, consumer behavior, geopolitical currents, all packed into a 72-hour ledger. It’s chaos wrapped in culture, and that fascinated me.

Applying institutional rigor to this space means building frameworks that account for unpredictability. I brought in covenant-driven structures, scenario-based modeling, and hybrid capital deployment models that mirror growth-stage funding rounds, except the return isn’t from equity alone, but brand equity, secondary markets, and multi-year asset monetization.

Festivals aren’t just “parties” — they’re short-duration, high-yield ventures with layered revenue streams. It’s not about how loud the music plays; it’s about how clean the books are once the lights go out.

The live music market is projected to grow from $28.1 billion to $79.7 billion by 2030. From your front-row seat in festival finance, what’s driving this explosive growth, and what opportunities are investors missing in this space?

We’re in the middle of an experience economy supercycle. The pandemic created a pent-up demand for shared, visceral moments, and festivals offer exactly that. But beyond emotion, what’s driving the numbers is infrastructure: improved digital ticketing, dynamic pricing, data-driven fan targeting, and vertically integrated production ecosystems.

Where investors are still asleep is on the long tail. Everyone wants Coachella-level scale, but the real opportunity lies in mid-market and regional festivals with cult followings. These events have lower overhead, higher loyalty, and more room for operational optimization. Add in synergies with hospitality, sponsorship tech, and cross-border expansion, and you have an investment thesis that’s not just scalable — it’s sustainable.

You’ve seen both the successes and spectacular failures in this industry. Can you share a specific example of how financial mismanagement can destroy even a well-attended festival, and what red flags investors should watch for?

A sold-out crowd doesn’t guarantee solvency. I’ve seen festivals that had 15,000+ attendees and still closed at a loss. Why? A lack of cash discipline. They overpaid for talent, underestimated production costs, and, most critically, had no hedging against weather delays, which forced a last-minute infrastructure expansion that obliterated their margins.

Red flags? Start with liquidity buffers. If a festival’s budget runs on “hope and headliners,” run. Also, beware of single-entity operations that blend promoter finances with the brand. Transparency matters. Look for GAAP-compliant reporting, real-time reconciliation practices, and a CFO who’s not also the talent booker. Otherwise, you’re underwriting chaos.

The intersection of finance and entertainment is particularly male-dominated. How do you navigate being one of the few women in senior finance roles in this space, and what advice would you give to other women looking to break into similar positions?

I’ve learned to embrace the paradox: I am both the spreadsheet and the sharp elbow in the room. Being a woman in festival finance often means walking into meetings where no one expects you to talk EBITDA. And then surprising them not just with fluency, but vision.

To women entering this space: build fluency in both finance and the cultural product. You’ll earn trust faster if you can talk term sheets and ticket sales. Also, find allies who see your role not as a diversity checkbox, but as a strategic advantage. Because being underestimated can be fuel — if you let your results do the talking.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about festival investments, and how do you help investors understand that these are serious financial assets rather than just cultural events?

The biggest misconception? That festivals are ephemeral, like fireworks — beautiful but fleeting. In reality, they are brands, infrastructure plays, and data assets. A well-run festival has recurring revenue, IP value, and a captive audience that brands would kill for.

I help investors shift their lens from “event” to “platform.” We model festivals like operating companies, with forecastable costs, diversified revenue channels (tickets, F&B, sponsorship, licensing), and growth levers like geographic replication or vertical integration. When you frame it that way, festivals stop being passion projects and start looking like smart portfolios.

Looking ahead, where do you see the festival industry heading financially? Are we in a bubble, or is this sustainable growth? And personally, what’s next for you? Are you eyeing larger entertainment conglomerates, starting your own investment fund, or something completely different?

We’re not in a bubble — we’re in a recalibration. The froth is fading, but the fundamentals are solid. The next phase will reward operators who treat festivals like operating businesses, not vanity showcases. Expect consolidation, tech-driven efficiencies, and deeper alignment between finance and fan experience.

As for me, I’m building something of my own. A fund focused on alternative entertainment assets — festivals, niche IP, creator-led media. I want to bring institutional capital to sectors the market still labels “emerging” but which are, in truth, underwritten by culture. My goal? To turn undervalued creativity into bankable equity — without stripping it of soul.