Cooking Vinyl

Cooking Vinyl Australia was an Australian independent record label and music-services business based in Melbourne. It was established in 2013 by Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey, who had previously worked together at Shock Records, in partnership with Martin Goldschmidt, the London-based founder and chief executive of the Cooking Vinyl Group. The venture gave Cooking Vinyl a locally focused Australian operation while providing Gruppetta and Harvey with a platform for signing, developing, marketing and distributing Australian artists. During its eleven years under the Cooking Vinyl Australia name, the label built a broad domestic roster spanning alternative rock, punk, metal, indie, roots and contemporary Australian music. Artists associated with the operation included Jem Cassar-Daley, Ceres, Jenny Mitchell, Luca Brasi, Parkway Drive, King Stingray, The Southern River Band and Windwaker. The label’s activities were not limited to releasing recordings owned or controlled by its own roster. It also supplied marketing, promotion, distribution and label-services support to a range of international and domestic partners in Australia and New Zealand. These relationships included Thirty Tigers, Run For Cover Records, Counter Intuitive Records, Blue Grape Music, Equal Vision Records, SO Recordings, Greyscale Records and Dine Alone Records. A significant structural development came in 2018, when Cooking Vinyl Australia entered an arrangement with Sony Music Australia. Sony made a significant investment in the independent label, while recordings from the Australian operation were distributed globally through The Orchard, Sony’s music-distribution and label-services business. The agreement expanded the label’s international distribution capacity without eliminating its independent identity or local artist focus. The label continued signing Australian acts during the early 2020s. Reported additions included Melbourne/Naarm band CIVIC, alternative-rock group Jebediah and Perth-based rock band The Southern River Band. These signings reflected the business’s continuing emphasis on Australian guitar music and artist-led independent releases. In September 2024, after eleven years operating as Cooking Vinyl Australia, the company adopted the name Civilians and introduced a new visual identity. The rebrand was intended to remove confusion about the Australian business’s relationship with the separate United Kingdom-based Cooking Vinyl label, while retaining the same underlying team, capabilities and commitment to artist development. Civilians described the change as a new name and renewed focus rather than a departure from the organization’s prior work. Accordingly, Cooking Vinyl Australia is best understood as the former name of the continuing Australian independent label and services operation, rather than as an unrelated or currently active standalone brand.

Cooking Vinyl Australia was formed in Melbourne in 2013 by Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey, both of whom had worked together at Shock Records. The venture was established in partnership with Martin Goldschmidt, founder and chief executive of the United Kingdom’s Cooking Vinyl Group. Its creation extended the Cooking Vinyl name into the Australian market while placing day-to-day local operations with an experienced Australian team. The business functioned as both an independent record label and a broader music-services company. It developed and released music by Australian artists and also assisted outside labels with marketing, promotion and distribution in Australia and New Zealand. Its domestic roster covered a wide range of contemporary genres and included artists such as Jem Cassar-Daley, Ceres, Jenny Mitchell, Luca Brasi, Parkway Drive, King Stingray, The Southern River Band and Windwaker. The operation also worked with partner labels including Thirty Tigers, Run For Cover Records, Counter Intuitive Records, Blue Grape Music, Equal Vision Records, SO Recordings, Greyscale Records and Dine Alone Records. In 2018, Cooking Vinyl Australia formed a significant commercial relationship with Sony Music Australia. Sony invested in the independent label, and the Australian company’s recordings were distributed internationally through The Orchard, Sony’s distribution and label-services subsidiary. This arrangement increased the reach of the label’s releases while preserving its independent Australian operating base. The company continued to add Australian artists in the 2022–2024 period. Reported signings included Melbourne/Naarm band CIVIC, alternative-rock band Jebediah and Perth rockers The Southern River Band. These additions reinforced its role as a locally oriented independent label with interests in alternative, rock and related guitar-based music. In September 2024, the organization announced that it was changing its name to Civilians. The rebrand followed eleven years of operation as Cooking Vinyl Australia and was designed to eliminate uncertainty about whether the Australian business was the same entity as, or directly controlled by, the better-known UK Cooking Vinyl label. The new name and visual identity represented a repositioning of the continuing Melbourne operation rather than the creation of a wholly new business. Civilians retained the label’s artist and partner-services orientation. In September 2025, the renamed operation announced an Australian representation arrangement with Equal Vision Records, demonstrating continuity in its role as a local partner for international independent labels.

• 2025

  Equal Vision Records partnership announced

  [1]Civilians (record label)en.wikipedia.org

  Civilians announced that it would represent Equal Vision Records’ roster in Australia.

• 2024

  Rebrand to Civilians

  [1]Civilians (record label)en.wikipedia.org

  The company retired the Cooking Vinyl Australia name after eleven years and adopted Civilians to distinguish the Australian operation from Cooking Vinyl UK.

• 2022

  Expansion of Australian artist signings

  [1]Civilians (record label)en.wikipedia.org

  The label entered a period of additional Australian signings, including acts later identified as CIVIC, Jebediah and The Southern River Band.

• 2018

  Sony Music Australia investment and The Orchard distribution arrangement

  [1]Civilians (record label)en.wikipedia.org

  Sony Music Australia made a significant investment, while The Orchard took on global distribution for recordings from the Australian operation.

• 2013

  Cooking Vinyl Australia founded

  [1]Civilians (record label)en.wikipedia.org

  Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey established the Melbourne-based operation in partnership with Martin Goldschmidt of Cooking Vinyl Group.

An Australian independent label and label-services operation combining local artist development with international marketing, distribution and partner-label representation.

• Record-label releases · 2013

  Recorded music releases

  The label released and supported recordings by a diverse group of Australian artists, with a roster spanning alternative rock, punk, metal, indie, roots and contemporary popular music. Associated artists included Jem Cassar-Daley, Ceres, Jenny Mitchell, Luca Brasi, Parkway Drive, King Stingray, The Southern River Band and Windwaker.

• Marketing, promotion and distribution · 2013

  Label services

  Cooking Vinyl Australia provided local marketing, promotion and distribution services for domestic and international label partners across Australia and New Zealand. Its partner network included Thirty Tigers, Run For Cover Records, Counter Intuitive Records, Blue Grape Music, Equal Vision Records, SO Recordings, Greyscale Records and Dine Alone Records.

• 2024

  Rebrand from Cooking Vinyl Australia to CiviliansStrategy

  Background

  The company said its existing name could create confusion about its relationship with the UK Cooking Vinyl label.

  Action taken

  The Melbourne operation introduced the Civilians name and a new visual identity while maintaining its underlying team and business focus.

  Aftermath

  The continuing business operated under the Civilians name and expanded its partner-label activities.

  Source

• 2018

  Strategic investment and global distribution partnership with SonyStrategy

  Background

  The independent Australian label sought expanded international distribution while continuing to operate as a locally focused music business.

  Action taken

  Sony Music Australia made a significant investment in Cooking Vinyl Australia, and The Orchard became the global distributor for its recordings.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement increased the international distribution capacity available to the label and its artists.

  Investment. Significant investment by Sony Music Australia; amount undisclosed (2018)

  Source

1. 1Civilians (record label)en.wikipedia.org