This interview with Tobi Parks, Co-Founder of Tour Tech and D Tour, and the owner of Des Moines independent venue xBk Live. She's also an entertainment attorney and the Board Vice President for the National Independent Venue Foundation, the charitable foundation of NIVA.
Tobi was named a "Woman of Live" by Pollstar and included in the "Next Generation of Live Music Professionals" by Billboard Magazine. TL;DR: Tobi's a busy independent music industry advocate, and has likely spent more hours working on creative infrastructures to help artists succeed on tour than those artists have spent on tour! Suffice to say, there's no shortage of stuff to talk about!
This is a part of Hypebot's Backstage Pass series, featuring conversations with people working behind the scenes to help artists navigate and streamline live music industry economics, logistics, and trends. Backstage Pass is sponsored by venue, festival and promoter marketing solution Bandsintown PRO.
Here's our conversation about live music tech solutions, setlist aggregation, and venue management. Enjoy!
Hypebot: Hey Tobi! Where to even start? Reading your bio is like reading a list of jobs in the music industry at a career fair. How and where your journey in the music industry all started?
Tobi: "My journey started as a musician. I began playing in local bar bands in my hometown when I was 14, and music was always part of my life growing up."
Though he wasn’t a huge part of my life, my father was a professional songwriter and performer. He co-wrote the song “Just One Look” and he was an original member of The Orioles and later performed with The Ink Spots. I was fortunate to see that music could be a viable career path."
H: So how does an entertainment and intellectual property attorney get involved in creating a business around digital tools for operational management and data management?
T: "I'm an attorney who also owns and operates a small indie music venue. Much of my focus goes toward making our operations more efficient and systematizing processes so my employees can concentrate on the core of their jobs rather than the administrative work around them. Large corporations have access to resources and tools that streamline their operations — I'm simply trying to bring that same advantage to the indie sector."
Earlier in my career, I had the opportunity to work for a major label, joining just as the digital era was taking shape. That gave me a front-row seat to how the larger industry navigated those changes from both a legal and technological standpoint. I was also part of a team that helped develop and launch a copyright and royalties system, which was an experience that laid the groundwork for what I'm doing now in the tech space."
H: Can you introduce the SARA project? And what’s the biggest pain point that Tour Tech and SARA are solving for venues?
T: "SARA stands for Setlist Aggregator and Royalty Application. It standardizes how venues and artists report live performance data to PROs so that information can be used in royalty distribution."
For venues, it simplifies quarterly reporting and licensing compliance. More importantly, it helps ensure the royalties venues pay actually reach the songwriters whose works are performed on their stages. Right now, a significant data gap means millions paid into the system never find their way to the right people. SARA closes that gap."
The PRO landscape has grown more fragmented as new players enter the market. Because there's never been a reliable way to gather setlists nor a systematic way to determine what PROs represent those songs, most venues pay all PROs across the board for every performance to avoid potential infringement. With private equity increasingly moving into rights acquisition, more PROs are likely to follow. Licensees can't be left exposed to every new entrant."
If we can accurately track what's being performed, venues can make informed decisions about which licenses they need and have assurance that the money they’re paying is actually benefiting the creators helping to keep their doors open."
H: Why is live music so important to you?
T: "There simply isn’t anything like being able to see your favorite artists in person and being able to share that experience with people that love them as much as you do! I love the exchange of energy and the community of it all. In a world that has become so digital, live music is innately visceral. We need all the real human connection we can get these days."
"A live performance is immediate, imperfect, emotional, and completely human. It can’t be manufactured by algorithms or filtered through a screen. It just is, it’s real, and in the moment."
H: And why is live music so important to artists in 2026?
T: "Live music allows artists to see reactions to their music in real time! As a former touring musician, I always loved the exchange of energy between artists and audiences. A live performance is immediate, imperfect, emotional, and completely human. It can’t be manufactured by algorithms or filtered through a screen. It just is, it’s real, and in the moment."
Also, touring/live shows have increasingly become more financially lucrative for artists than streaming. They can sell tickets and merch and earn actual dollars on the road, not just micro-pennies. This isn’t to say touring isn’t risky or financially difficult for artists. It certainly is and the economy isn’t helping with that, which is why we’re using SARA to help creators tap into the PRO royalty pool and get more money in their pockets."
H: You’re also a venue owner — the xBk Live in Des Moines — what’s the hardest thing people don’t understand about running a venue?
T: "I think people often assume because they attend a sold out show that we must be making money hand over fist… There’s a reason I have 17 jobs! Those same people are not there for the shows when there are 20 people in the room. They’re not seeing the rising costs in labor, insurance, operations, or seeing our daily fight with scalpers who try to dupe fans into buying tickets at inflated prices."
I love that I have the privilege of doing this work, but it’s also stressful, expensive, and the cause of many stomach aches!"
That said, I have an INCREDIBLE team that is the real heartbeat of xBk. They’re there every single night making sure fans and artists are safe and well cared for. I also couldn’t do it without our booker, Bill Rogers. He’s an incredible curator and we’d be lost without him."
H: Is there something you learned along the way on that journey that’s become essential to you?
T: "You’re not going to please everyone. Try to remember that everyone is just trying to do the best they can."
"The venue is meant to function as a creative laboratory of sorts. We don't always get it right, but the intention is always there."
H: How should venues be thinking about artist and/or community development, in your opinion?
T: "I can’t speak for any community but my own, but I do not take that responsibility lightly. I feel fortunate that I not only have a venue to help develop artists, but I also have knowledge, experience, and access that I can share."
When I first moved to Des Moines, one of the first things I did was talk to people in the local music community. I took in their feedback and start a music incubator called Station 1 Records to help local artists learn the industry and access financial support. Though the incubator no longer exists as formal entity, I still try to do my best to be a resource for local creators and contribute to the ecosystem around them."
That extends beyond the artists themselves. We're just as invested in developing the creative workers in our community — from our bartenders to our sound techs. The venue is meant to function as a creative laboratory of sorts. We don't always get it right, but the intention is always there."
H: What was one recent concert that blew you away?
T: "I recently saw Jesse Welles at First Ave in Minneapolis. He was phenomenal, but again, it was more about the overall experience. I went to the show with a good friend and his family. The tickets were his 50th birthday gift so we got to see an incredible show at an iconic venue on a special night. To get to experience the show with him, his wife, and their two teen kids who were just mesmerized by the show was just the best!"
The community, the energy, and the connection is what I love…the bands were not bad either. SG Goodman was incredible that night, too! Don’t sleep on her."
H: What’s your favorite food to eat after a night out? :)
T: "Haha, ironically, I don’t actually go out that often. I’m at an age that I try to be cognizant of my health so deeply value sleep! But if I had to choose, I’m a creature of habit and am a pretty standard eggs and avocado toast kinda lady. Boring, I know!"
H: What is the most beautiful thing in the world to you?
T: "Wow, that’s an intense question. I’m deeply grateful for the life I get to live. I get to wake up every day and do work that I love. I have an amazing family, incredible friends, and I get to provide joy to my community as my job."
That’s the best part of owning a venue; to know that the work I do contributes to the best part of someone’s day. I think that’s pretty beautiful."
Learn more at Tour Tech and check out the calendar at xBk Live.
Hypebot’s Backstage Pass series is sponsored by venue, festival and promoter marketing platform Bandsintown PRO. Join leading live event professionals saving time and selling more tickets with their automated, self-serve and custom solutions.
