They Might Be Royalty Is More Than A Record Label

Posted On November 30, 2021

Samantha Colleran, November 2021

Right before Thanksgiving, I sat down to talk with two incredibly ambitious people in the music industry. Founders of the music label They Might Be Royalty, Lena Vazquez and Jacob Simmons started TMBR during the pandemic and are officially ready to introduce all of their hard work to the world. I’m absolutely honored to have spoken with them about the start up of TMBR, and you can read our full conversation below! Check out the end of the end of this post to see where you can follow TMBR on socials and stay up to date on their future progress!

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SC: Hi guys!

JS: Hello!

LV: Hi Sam, how are you?

SC: Good, how are you guys?

JS: I’m doin’ pretty good, Lena?

LV: Not bad for a Sunday, can’t complain!

SC: Awesome! So, I know why we’re here today but for my audience who does not, if you’d like to give an introduction of who you are and what we’re talking about today…

LV: Sure! I’ll lead. Hi everyone, my name is Lena Vazquez. I am the co-founder of They Might Be Royalty, a Philadelphia based record label for the aspiring music artist community. I am currently a senior at SUNY Oneonta and I’m studying music industry. And yeah, that’s me!

JS: Hello everyone, I’m Jacob Simmons. I’m also a co-founder of TMBR Records. I’m a music business and technology major at University of the Arts. I’m also not only working with TMBR and helping Lena build it up, I’m a singer-songwriter myself, so be on the lookout for some new sounds!

SC: That’s so awesome! How did you guys meet and what made you want to start up TMBR and collaborate?

JS: I can answer this question if you’d like. 

LV: Sure, have fun with it!

JS: It’s a pretty funny story! Lena and I were in the same music concepts class, which is sort of like music theory. We bonded over the fact we were both so confused about what was happening in the class. From there a friendship blossomed and it grew over time. We would meet before class and talk about music, the class itself, and just life in general. We became really close and Lena actually moved away to… you can say the name because I ruin it everytime.

LV: Oneonta!

JS: Oneonta, right! So during the pandemic- actually, Lena, you can say this part since you know more about what you planned on doing. 

LV: During the pandemic, I was trying to figure out ways I can still work with the artist community and support them, especially since the pandemic took such a toll on the music community. I had this idea of having an artist management company where I could help promote their music and help guide their reputation online and connect them with other artists I knew that were looking for opportunities to collaborate with other people. It was originally called Lena Rose Management, I had an Instagram up for that, but I was looking for more people to help out with it. Jacob actually reached out to me and it was great because we connected and caught up again. We had some meetings and talked about expanding from an artist management company to a collective-

JS: A music collective!

LC: Right, a music collective. After some other networking opportunities with some professors at the University of the Arts, we came to realize that we are a record label. From there on, I think about July, we’ve been an established record label. 

SC: I love it! Where did you come up with the name They Might Be Royalty? I think it’s so cool!

LV: *laughing* Jacob, you take this one. 

JS: *laughing* We’ve always waited for someone to ask that question. I think we were looking for something that we could make into an acronym, because acronyms are always cool. I’m also really into royal stuff, and wanted royal somewhere in the title. I thought it would be cool since we’re helping aspiring artists and talent, and they could eventually- they might be royalty. There’s something within these artists and ourselves, it’s about the potential our artists have in the industry, their greatness and success, and we’re honored to be helping them get to where they need to be. I hope that made sense. 

SC: It made perfect sense, that’s incredible! Kind of jumping from that point, would you guys like to talk more in depth about They Might Be Royalty’s specific hopes you have to help aspiring talent within the music industry; artists, writers, I know you said you cover all sorts of industry bases. 

LV: The main goal is to have our own network, one big network. Just to backtrack, TMBR is Philadelphia based, that’s where I went to school, I love Philly, it’s my heart and home. I met a bunch of artists who had similar ideas of collaboration and I wanted to see it come true. Even through the pandemic I wanted to see it continue. We represent a variety of industry creatives and executive personnel such as music artists, audio engineers, producers, journalists, managers, tour managers, we’re giving everyone an opportunity to work together. As we’re in our younger years in school and are able to develop it so we have some sort of direction we can continue with once we’re out of school and actually entering the big, crazy industry. 

JS: I just want to build upon what Lena was saying. We want to create different opportunities and make them available for younger artists because we all know it can be isolating within the music industry sometimes, especially for younger artists who are just starting to get into the business. We want to have those opportunities ready so these artists can work with other people in the same lane as they’re in, you know? Instead of doing something just for personal gain, we can all work towards something, which is building up the TMBR brand and label. Everyone’s building it up through their art and their work, and they get to collaborate and help each other along the way. 

SC: I like that you brought up the fact the music industry can be really intimidating. I know for me personally, I think networking was something I had to push myself to do. The fact you guys are creating a little network where people can be unafraid to talk to other people starting on similar levels is really important. 

JS: My dream is for an artist to say “I wrote this song, but I don’t think it’s my sound”, and be able to call up another TMBR artist and say “Hey, want to sing this song for me? I have everything arranged, but can you put your own sound and spin on it?” That is the dream for me! I can just retire after that. I want to be at the point where artists within our community can transfer their work to others. 

SC: I think that’s so awesome. Jumping off from that question, do you guys have any artists currently, or are you working to sign any artists?

LV: We have been in contact with a few people who are interested in working with us! We’re communicating and networking with them now, we have some meetings set up, so hopefully we start producing them and you will see them releasing music under our label soon. 

SC: Are you limiting yourself to one genre, or is it anyone you feel like has the talent and passion for music?

JS: That’s a good question! We don’t want to limit ourselves to one specific genre, but we also don’t want twenty different genres we’re working with at the same time just because of how crazy and nondescript it can make what we’re doing. Right now, we’re focusing on alternative, indie, pop areas of music. Artists like Beach House, MGMT, The Killers, also some… Lena.

LV: Oneonta locals like Fake My Feelings, Seeing Double, those types of genres. 

JS: This is a Philadelphia based band, but Diana Is Calling, they just came out with a couple of videos. They’re pretty good as well!

SC: Awesome! Are there any producers or other people in different areas you’ve been looking to work with too? Obviously you cover a lot of bases, so who else is on the TMBR roster, or will be on the roster?

LV: Along with the artists we have coming out, we are in contact with quite a few producers as well. We might be onboarding them within the next month or so. We’re in the process of officially establishing our LLC and other business related things, so we’re just about ready to start our next phase of getting more people on board. We actually just onboarded one of our most recent members, we have a music journalist with us now. We’re on the right path and we have a few people we can start putting on our roster, hopefully within the next week or so. 

SC: That’s so great! I know you mentioned there’s a few Oneonta and Philly people you’ve been talking to, but once you set the groundwork and establish those artists, do you hope to expand nationally or internationally? What do you hope to see for the future of TMBR within the next few years?

JS: For the most part I would say, and Lena you may correct me if I’m wrong, but within three to five years we hope to have the Northeast of America knowing the name of TMBR. We want to be a well known record label in that area, and then we’d like to go to the Southeast. I hope this isn’t too general!

LV: Just to bounce off of that, Jacob definitely has the right idea for the next couple of years. Even just for now, within the next one to two years, I’m really hoping to dominate Philadelphia and that everyone knows about our brand. Ethically and morally, we want to be positively seen there, we want our mission and values to be well known there. Even though I say we’re a Philadelphia based label, we’re more than happy to expand with people. Oneonta bands, Long Island bands, Tennessee bands, we’re really open to anyone. 

SC: I love everything about that! I know you guys are both from the Philly area or have ties to there. Is Philly a really happening music scene, or do you hope to be two of the people who make it a really well known area, like a Tennessee type of city?

JS: I think it is! Philly is really into house bands, small intimate garage settings. You have a drummer, guitarist, and bassist, and everyone kind of plays shows that way. I know the hip hop scene is pretty heavy as well. I keep my ear geared more towards the pop stuff, though. 

LV: Philly is a really great city for music and arts. You have the big sports arenas where Beyoncé has performed before. Places like The Met Philadelphia, the Fillmore, the Foundry. I worked at the Fillmore for an internship for some time with Live Nation and the whole atmosphere was so amazing. University of the Arts is such a huge arts school, and bouncing off of what Jacob said, it’s a lot of DIY and underground artists. There are artists who just want to have fun, but there are people who want to keep going and take music seriously. I thought it would be such a great hot spot for us because there is traction there and there are so many opportunities there. 

SC: Right, definitely! I love how passionate you guys are about all of this, it’s so inspiring. Those are all of the questions I had for you guys today! Is there anything else you want to say to the Vibing On Vinyl audience? Where can people find you and learn more about TMBR and keep up to date once you officially have artists and more members on your roster?

LV: We do have a landing page right now, if you go to tmbrrecords.com you’ll see a place to subscribe because we have newsletters we send out and we have our about page. We also have an Instagram page, again, @tmbrrecords. We’ve posted some clips of some concerts that have been happening in Oneonta, some fun Q&A’s, and more information will be posted there. 

I want to put some more emphasis on our mission statement for everyone. Our biggest mission is to provide artists, creatives, executive personnel, all the creatives, with strong support for music release and production, overall producing a network that contributes to unlimited collaboration opportunities. This idea really started during COVID when I’d see artists posting on Instagram saying things like “I need a bassist, please hit me up if you can help me with a song this weekend”, and I really want to help people make that connection as seamlessly as possible. I want to lift that weight and be the middleman that can say, “I can help you right now, I’ve got five bassists. Here’s their information, connect with them, and let’s get your project rolling”. Jacob, is there anything you’d like to add onto that?

JS: It’s the idea of collaboration. If your listeners can take away anything from this, it’s how much we are willing to collaborate with other people and artists. From this process, it’s made me admire the collaboration process so much more. Working with Lena, I’ve learned that no one has a bad idea, obviously not every idea can go through but it doesn’t mean your idea is any less worthy of being heard. Everybody has a chance to be heard. When you think of TMBR, I want people to think of the collaborative process of making art. I feel like when I’m making art, collaboration is something that I appreciate the most because, again, nobody has a bad idea. It’s only bad if you don’t express it. I hope that made sense!

SC: It made perfect sense! Thank you so much for sitting down with me for a few minutes! Everybody who is reading this once it goes live, if you’re in any field of the music industry make sure you give these guys a follow. They’re super passionate, and you can truly tell how much love has been poured into this project. 

LV: Thank you so much, Samantha! Big shoutout to you, and Vibing On Vinyl. I love seeing your content and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you!

JS: I agree! Thank you very much for speaking with us, because you did not have to, I truly appreciate it. 

SC: Anytime, guys!

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All of the official They Might Be Royalty links are included above, so be sure to give them a follow on Instagram and subscribe to their newsletter to stay up to date on all things TMBR! Thank you so much to Lena and Jacob for taking some time to speak with me about TMBR, and I’m so excited to see what the future has in store for this incredible label!