Courtney Barnett’s Milk! Records To Close

Milk! Records, founded by Courtney Barnett and Jen Cloher, is closing its doors after 11 years.

Marking the end of an era, the last release on Milk! Records will return to the very beginning, with the final album being Barnett’s instrumental album, End Of The Day. In 2012, the first release on the label was her debut EP, I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris.

End Of The Day will be released on Friday, 8 September, and features 17 tracks written to score the documentary, Anonymous Club.

Today, Barnett reveals three songs from the album: Start Somewhere, Life Balance and First Slow that arrive with a mini film directed by Claire Marie Vogel, which you can watch below. You can pre-order End Of The Day here.

The independent record label has been home to genre-defying, boundary-pushing artists from Australia, New Zealand and other corners of the globe, such as Jen Cloher, Liz Stringer, East Brunswick All Girls Choir, Loose Tooth, Hachiku, Tiny Ruins, The Finks, Hand Habits, Bachelor, Sleater-Kinney and many more. Milk! will officially end its run at the end of 2023.

Barnett said about closing Milk! Records in a statement, “It has been one of the great honours of my life to be a part of this incredible community and to work alongside so many amazing artists. Thank you to every single person who has been part of the Milk! Records journey, it wouldn't be the same without you.”

In a new interview with The Guardian, Barnett explained the decision behind ending Milk! Records, telling the publication that financial concerns were only exacerbated by Covid-19 restrictions, hitting the most locked-down city in Australia the hardest.

“I’m still coming to terms with the end of it,” she told The Guardian. “But I’m letting go of that [guilt] feeling. It’s like that idea of looking after yourself so you can look after someone else. That reverse selfishness – you can’t love someone ‘til you love yourself – that kind of idea.”

"In a way, Milk! Records is really just a platform for artists to come together, create music,” Jen Cloher told The Music in a 2016 interview. The loss of the label is a sad one, as it fostered community within Melbourne’s inner north.

Cloher added, “But I think what Milk! really captures — and I think this is timeless, I don't think this will ever go away — that direct sense of community, and that the fans are as much a part of the label and what's going on, you know? And that engagement is very direct.”

Milk! was always going to be independent and led by a singular vision uninterested in fame, glory and ARIA Charts.

Barnett told The Music, “We're not really thinking about ARIA charting; we don't care. But my feeling about all of that stuff - and you'd probably agree — is, like: great albums do get noticed, but it might just take more time for people to discover [them].”

You can go through Milk! Records’ home of vinyl, merchandise and more here.