Civilians is an independent record label based in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

. Founded in 2013 by co-managing directors Leigh Grupetta and Stu Harvey in partnership with Martin Goldschmidt, Civilians was originally known as Cooking Vinyl Australia. After eleven years operating as Cooking Vinyl Australia, they unveiled a new name in September 2024, one that removed any lingering confusion about their connection with Martin Goldschmidt's lauded U.K. label

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England. It was founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and his business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner an ...

. Civilians boasts a diverse roster including the likes of Fanny Lumsden, Emma Donovan, King Stingray, Eliza & The Delusionals, Windwaker and

Luca Brasi Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'', as well as its 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he was portrayed by Lenny Montana, an ex-wrestler and former bodyguard and enforcer for the Colombo crime fami ...

and supplies label services to various partners, including

Thirty Tigers Thirty Tigers is an American music marketing, distribution and management company for independent artists, based in Nashville. History The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland and is distributed by The Orchard. In 20 ...

, Run For Cover,

Resist A resist, used in many areas of manufacturing and art, is something that is added to parts of an object to create a pattern by protecting these parts from being affected by a subsequent stage in the process. Often the resist is then removed. For ...

, Greyscale and Dine Alone.

History

After working together at Shock records, Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey founded Civilians (formerly known as Cooking Vinyl Australia) in 2013, in a partnership with Martin Goldschmidt, the London-based Cooking Vinyl Group Founder & CEO. In 2016, Civilians launched a music publishing division based in Sydney, Australia. Reporting directly to Goldschmidt, Cooking Vinyl Publishing is a standalone company overseen by Matthew Donlevy, the former managing director of

Peermusic Peermusic is a United States–based independent Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. History Ralph Peer, a field recording engineer and Artists and repertoire, A&R representative for Victor Records, went on a scouting trip to Brist ...

. In 2018, Civilians partnered with

Sony Music Australia Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. Prior to 1995, SMEA published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of So ...

with Sony making "a significant investment" in the Indie label. As part of the arrangement, Cooking Vinyl Australia's recordings would be distributed globally through Sony's distributor and label services company The Orchard.

"We are thrilled about what the future holds as we enter this next phase of the business" - Leigh Gruppetta, ''The Music Network, 2018''

From 2022 - 2024 Civilians signed numerous Australian acts including the likes of Melbourne/Naarm based band

CIVIC Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: Civic or CIVIC can also refer to: General *Honda Civic, a car produced by the Honda Motor Co. *Civics, the science of comparative government * Civic ...

, alternative rock band,

Jebediah Jebediah are an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. They were formed by Chris Daymond on lead guitar, Bob Evans (musician), Kevin Mitchell (aka Bob Evans) on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and Vanessa T ...

, and latest signing, The Southern River Band. After eleven years as Cooking Vinyl Australia, the Melbourne-based label launched a rebrand, unveiling a new name and look to remove any confusion regarding their association with Cooking Vinyl UK. Now known as Civilians, the independent label continues to grow with new signings said to be on the horizon. “It's a new name, a renewed focus but the same us,” says Gruppetta of Civilians, in a statement. “We remain committed to everything that has driven our growth over the past 11 years.”

Label partners

Civilians works with a variety of international and domestic label partners to release and promote music in Australia and New Zealand. These include: * Bargain Bin * Dine Alone Records * Greyscale Records * Resist Records * Run For Cover Records *

Artists

Current

* Baroness * Ceres *

Civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: Civic or CIVIC can also refer to: General *Honda Civic, a car produced by the Honda Motor Co. *Civics, the science of comparative government * Civic ...

* Eliza & the Delusionals * Emma Donovan & the Putbacks * Fanny Lumsden * Hands Like Houses *

High Tension ''High Tension'' (French: ''Haute tension'', ; also known as ''Switchblade Romance'' in some English-speaking countries) is a 2003 French slasher film directed by Alexandre Aja, co-written with Grégory Levasseur, and starring Cécile de France ...

* Jenny Mitchell * King Stingray *

Parkway Drive Parkway Drive are an Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay, New South Wales, formed in 2003. Parkway Drive have released seven studio albums, one EP, two DVDs, a split album and one book, titled ''Ten Years of Parkway Drive''. The band's la ...

* PUP * Stumps * The Southern River Band * Tyler Richardson * Windwaker

Past

* Boydos * Calling All Cars * Elizabeth Fader * Endless Heights * Ivan Ooze * Johnny Hunter * Kate Miller-Heidke * Mike Noga * Sarah Wolfe * The Chats * Tracy McNeil & the Goodlife {{col-end

References