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Courtney Barnett to close Milk! Records, announces final release

By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 11 July 2023

Courtney Barnett has announced that she is closing her Milk! Records label, through which she has released her own music and that of other artists for more than a decade. The company’s final release will be her new instrumental album, the appropriately titled ‘End Of The Day’.

In a statement on social media yesterday, the label confirmed the news, saying: “After eleven magical years, Milk! Records will be closing at the end of 2023. We are so grateful for the last decade of love and support, and we are super proud of all the amazing music we’ve had the honour to be a part of releasing”.

Speaking to The Guardian about the decision, Barnett said: “I don’t have a soundbite yet, of what to say. It just felt like the right time. A year ago, or maybe even six months ago, thinking about [closing it] would’ve been so impossible and so difficult and I would’ve resisted. One day I literally just woke up and my mind had changed”.

Barnett set up the record company in 2012, in the hope that having a label brand connected to her self-released debut EP ‘I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris’ would make it seem like a more serious prospect.

Running the venture with her then partner Jen Cloher – who also released music via the label – the company went on to put out more than 60 releases, working with artists including Sleater-Kinney, Chastity Belt, Tiny Ruins, Loose Tooth and Hachiku.

‘End Of The Day’ was written and recorded with Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa and formed the soundtrack to Danny Cohen’s 2021 documentary about Barnett, ‘Anonymous Club’. It is set for release on 8 Sep.

Out now are three tracks from the record – ‘Start Somewhere’, ‘Life Balance’ and ‘First Slow’ – which you can listen to here: