Mark Lipsitzwhich was recently named CEO of Bar/Inga Records and worked with bands including Ivy and Feelies, has died. He was 61.
Lipsitz died after suffering a heart attack on July 5, according to a representative. In a statement that was shared on social media, Bar/Inga posts remembered his contribution to the label he went with in 2001.
“Bar/no family is heartbroken to share the loss of our beloved friend and colleague Mark Lipsitz,” they wrote. “Mark was a tough artist advocate and defended the music he discovered and pressed everyone he knew was the best musician and the best person they could be. The music industry loses a coach, an ambassador and an ally. But Mark created friendship and network of people who would never be happy as they do without his influence. The work he leaves.
Throughout his career, Lipsitz was a listed advocate for artists in posts at several music companies, with his longest time at Bar/None. He signed Ivy, who counted the late Adam Schlesinger as a member, to Atlantic subsidiary in 1994 and worked with musicians including Dar Williams and the front bottom.
Born in 1963, Lipsitz was a long -term New Yorker through Memphis, TN. When he went to the University of Kansas, he ran the college radio station KJHK. His first transfer to the music industry was with a sales job at important distribution, followed by seeds, whose list included Ivy, Madder Rose and the pastels.
Lipsitz left seeds for Razor + Tie and worked with musicians including Dar Williams and Continental Drifters, before switching to Bar/None, founded in 2001. While he was at Bar/None, he marketed artists such as Langley School Music Project and Architecture in Helsinki. He also launched a vinyl Reissue program for records from Montreal, Feelies and Alex Chilton. He was recently reunited with Ivy pending the group’s upcoming album “Traces of You”, which was released in September 2025.
Tributes poured on social media from artists and managers who have worked with Lipsitz over the years. “In 2025, we still have a career because of Mark’s instincts, love and commitment to our musical vision,” Ivy wrote on Instagram. “There would be no ivy but Mark Lipsitz … No fountains by Wayne but Mark Lipsitz … so many of Dominos who fell because of Mark Lipsitz would not have fallen, including me and Dominique’s beautiful children, our caregivers today … The list is endless.”