The Power 50: Leigh Gruppetta & Stu Harvey

Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey founded Cooking Vinyl Australia (alongside Cooking Vinyl international co-founder Martin Goldschmidt) in 2013, following their tenures at Shock Records as General Manager, Music and Senior International Label Manager respectively. Gruppetta had previously worked for labels including Festival Mushroom Records and Warner Music Australia, while Harvey hosted triple j’s Short.Fast.Loud for 11 years.

They caught the attention of everyone from Dave Grohl to Miguel with their viral single Smoko, but it was Cooking Vinyl who finally managed to snag The Chats. Leigh Gruppetta and Stu Harvey announced in November that the Sunshine Coast trio, and their Bargain Bin Records, had inked a huge worldwide deal with Cooking Vinyl Australia.

That wasn’t the only impressive signing for the year though, with buzz act Eliza & The Delusionals joining Cooking Vinyl Australia in May. 2019 also saw Fanny Lumsden, Tracy McNeil, Elizabeth Fader and Stumps join the label’s roster. Cooking Vinyl Australia saw releases from Ceres, The Beautiful Monument and more throughout the year.

"Seeing Eliza & The Delusionals land national US airplay with Just Exist and build a solid touring platform along with signing The Chats to a worldwide deal via their own label Bargain Bin Records." - LG