Stuart Giles

Cooking Vinyl

Cooking Vinyl is a UK based independent record company, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman while Rob Collins holds the position of managing director. Established in 1986, Cooking Vinyl has developed a reputation as one of Europe's most innovative independent labels, inspiring an enviable loyalty among its artist roster in the process. Key to the company's longevity is its emphasis on artist-driven deals with its pioneering introduction of bespoke services-only contracts that claim no stake in artists' copyrights. As for recent years, 2015 and 2016 were remarkable for the label, described by Uncut magazine "a template for modern independent record companies". After topping the charts in 2015 with The Prodigy's "The Day is My Enemy", this feat was repeated in 2016 with the global success of Passenger's "Young as the Morning Old as the Sea". Both records qualified for a silver disc in the UK. This same year, Richard Ashcroft reached the UK top 3 with "These People", his first album in six years. The Fratellis, The View, Reverend & The Makers, Turin Brakes, The Cult, Billy Bragg & Joe Henry, Feeder, Area 11, The Rifles and Seth Lakeman also reached the UK top 40, thus fulfilling the entry criteria for the BRIT Awards 2017 "Album of the Year" category. In these years, Cooking Vinyl Australia notched up a number 1 album with Parkway Drive, and top 5 entries with City and Colour and Kate Miller-Heidke. Together with a highly creditable #31 in the Billboard 200 in 2016 with the latest album by The Dillinger Escape Plan for the newly established Cooking Vinyl America branch in New York, it all adds up to a true champagne years for the West London indie. Cooking Vinyl Records is a member of the CV Group, which also includes, CV America, CV Australia and CV Publishing.