# Cooking Vinyl Australia

Cooking Vinyl Australia is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 2013 by co-managing directors Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey in partnership with Martin Goldschmidt, Cooking Vinyl Australia works with a variety of international and domestic label partners.
Australian artists and bands signed directly to Cooking Vinyl Australia include Ceres, CIVIC, Eliza & The Delusionals, Emma Donovan, Fanny Lumsden, High Tension, Jebediah, King Stingray, Luca Brasi, STUMPS, The Southern River Band, Tyler Richardson and Windwaker.
After launching a rebrand in September 2024, Cooking Vinyl Australia now goes by Civilians.

## History

After working together at Shock records, Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey founded Cooking Vinyl Australia in 2013, in a partnership with Martin Goldschmidt, the London-based Cooking Vinyl Group Founder & CEO.
In 2016, Cooking Vinyl Australia 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.
In 2018, Cooking Vinyl Australia partnered with Sony Music Australia 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
In November 2022, Cooking Vinyl Australia signed Melbourne/Naarm based band CIVIC and announced the release of their latest album Taken By Force (released February 2023).
In September 2023, it was announced that Cooking Vinyl Australia had signed Australian alternative rock band, Jebediah, who released their first new album in twelve years, OIKS, on April 12, 2024.
A few months later in April 2024, Cooking Vinyl Australia announced their latest signing, The Southern River Band.
On September 10, 2024, Cooking Vinyl Australia rebranded as Civilians.

## Label partners

Cooking Vinyl Australia 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
* Triple Crown Records
* Thirty Tigers

## Awards and nominations
### ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
| 2023 | Fanny Lumsden Hey Dawn | Best Country Album | Won | [10] [11] |
| 2023 | Parkway Drive Darker Still | Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album | Won | [10] [11] |
| 2023 | Parkway Drive Darker Still | Best Group | Nominated | [10] [11] |
| 2023 | King Stingray Lookin' Out - Sam Brumby | Best Video | Nominated | [10] [11] |
| 2023 | King Stingray That's Where I Wanna Be Tour | Best Australian Live Act | Nominated | [10] [11] |
| 2022 | Emma Donovan Under These Streets (with the Putbacks) | Best Soul/R&B Release | Nominated | |
| 2022 | King Stingray King Stingray | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2022 | King Stingray King Stingray | Best Group | Nominated | |
| 2022 | King Stingray King Stingray | Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist | Won | |
| 2022 | King Stingray King Stingray | Best Rock Album | Nominated | |
| 2022 | King Stingray Kayla Flett, Gabi Coulthurst & Dimathaya Burarrwanga for King Stingray | Best Cover Art | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Parkway Drive Viva the Underdogs | Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album | Nominated | [13] [14] |
| 2020 | Fanny Lumsden Fallow | Best Country Album | Won | [13] [14] |
| 2018 | Fanny Lumsden Real Class Act | Best Country Album | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Parkway Drive Reverence | Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album | Won | |
| 2018 | Luca Brasi Stay | ARIA Award for Best Rock Album | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Parkway Drive Reverence | Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album | Won | |
| 2016 | Parkway Drive Ire | Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Fanny Lumsden Small Town Big Shot | Best Country Album | Nominated | |
| 2010 | Parkway Drive Deep Blue | Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album | Won | |

### AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2023 | Parkway Drive Darker Still |
| 2023 | Parkway Drive Darker Still | Best Independent Heavy Album or EP | Nominated |
| 2023 | King Stingray |
| 2023 | King Stingray | Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year - Presented by PPCA | Nominated |
| 2023 | King Stingray CAMP DOG |
| 2023 | King Stingray CAMP DOG | Independent Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2023 | King Stingray KING STINGRAY | Best Independent Rock Album or EP | Nominated |
| 2023 | King Stingray KING STINGRAY | Independent Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | King Stingray Get Me Out | Independent Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | Emma Donovan & The Putbacks Under These Streets | Best Independent Soul/R&B Album or EP | Won |
| 2021 | Emma Donovan Crossover | Independent Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | Emma Donovan Crossover | Best Independent Soul/R&B Album or EP | Won |
| 2021 | Fanny Lumsden Fallow | Independent Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | Fanny Lumsden Fallow | Best Independent Country Album or EP | Won |
| 2021 | Parkway Drive Viva the Underdogs | Best Independent Heavy Album or EP | Nominated |
| 2019 | High Tension Purge | Best Independent Hard Rock, Heavy or Punk Album | Nominated |
| 2018 | Fanny Lumsden Real Class Act | Best Country Album | Won |
| 2017 | Luca Brasi If This Is All We're Going to Be | Best Independent Hard Rock, Heavy or Punk Album | Nominated |
| 2013 | Parkway Drive Atlas | Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album | Nominated |
| 2010 | Parkway Drive Deep Blue | Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album | Won |

### J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, Triple J Unearthed and Double J The awards are given in an on-air ceremony held in November each year as part of triple j's AusMusic Month.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2023 | King Stingray |
| 2023 | King Stingray | Triple j Australian Live Act of the Year | Nominated |
| 2023 | Polaris Fatalism' |
| 2023 | Polaris Fatalism' | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | Eliza & The Delusionals Now and Then' |
| 2022 | Eliza & The Delusionals Now and Then' | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | King Stingray KING STINGRAY | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | King Stingray KING STINGRAY | Double J Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | Emma Donovan & The Putbacks |
| 2021 | Emma Donovan & The Putbacks | Double J Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | King Stingray 'Milkumana (directed by King Stingray and Sam Brumby)' |
| 2021 | King Stingray 'Milkumana (directed by King Stingray and Sam Brumby)' | Australian Video of the Year | Nominated |
| 2021 | King Stingray 'King Stingray' |
| 2021 | King Stingray 'King Stingray' | Unearthed Artist of the Year | Won |
| 2015 | Parkway Drive 'Ire' |
| 2015 | Parkway Drive 'Ire' | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2015 | Emma Donovan |
| 2015 | Emma Donovan | Double J Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2014 | Ceres |
| 2014 | Ceres | Unearthed Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2012 | Parkway Drive 'Altas' | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated |