Mark Lipsitz, the longtime label manager of Bar/None Records, died yesterday (July 5), according to the label. “Mark was a fierce artist advocate and championed the music he discovered, pushing everyone he knew to be the best musician and the best person they could be,” Bar/None Records wrote in a statement on Instagram. “The music industry is losing a coach, an ambassador, and an ally. But Mark created friendships and networks of people that would never thrive as they do without his influence. The work he leaves behind will enrich us all forever.” Lipsitz was 62.
In 1986, Bar/None Records was founded in Hoboken, New Jersey, at the hands of Tom Prendergast, a former pirate radio DJ and concert booker. After Glenn Morrow of Rage to Live became a partner in the label, Prendergast eventually left and Morrow tapped Lipsitz to spearhead Bar/None’s marketing in 2001. As the years passed, Lipsitz took on all manner of roles at the label, from suggesting bands worth signing to helping artists navigate the daunting music landscape, as the roster grew to include Big Star’s Alex Chilton, the Feelies, Ezra Furman, Tindersticks, the Front Bottoms, Diners, Pardoner, and dozens more.
Rocky O’Reilly, formerly of the Northern Irish duo Oppenheimer, told Hudson Reporter in 2015 that Lipsitz didn’t just help him find a broader audience internationally once signed to Bar/None, but to foster the drive needed to make the most out of life. “One phrase I heard from Mark early on, and many times after, was ‘proactivity breeds proactivity,’” he recalled. “I wouldn’t be doing any of this if Bar/None hadn’t picked our demo from a box and called me up full of passion, joy, and belief.”
Prior to joining Bar/None, Lipsitz also worked at Razor & Tie with acts like Continental Drifters and Dar Williams, as well as Seed Records via Atlantic and Important Relativity. Lipsitz often took a hands-on approach to working with and promoting bands at each label, with artists routinely speaking fondly of him in interviews over the years regarding his passionate approach to helping them grow.
One of the most beloved acts that Lipsitz discovered and helped champion to gain more recognition was Ivy, the cult 1990s indie-pop trio featuring the late Adam Schlesinger, Andy Chase, and Dominique Durand. Lipsitz took the band under his wing in 1994, helped Schlesinger get Fountains of Wayne signed to Atlantic, and welcomed Ivy back to Bar/None following Schlesinger’s death and the discovery of previously unreleased Ivy music.
“When we told Mark in 2022 that we might have enough old material we could finish for a new Ivy album, he was ecstatic about it and encouraged us to forge ahead and finish them. He was the loving, supportive mentor as always,” Ivy wrote in a lengthy tribute. “Secretly, Dominique and I were just glad to be having a pretext to be in his energetic, enthusiastic sphere again. Lunches, meetings, phone calls, always Mark’s delicious southern drawl infusing us with his spirit and kindness. We were so happy to be doing all of this for and with Mark again… In an ever changing and more turbulent musical climate now than ever, just know that if everyone in the music industry could have been like Mark Lipsitz, the landscape would be a more beautiful and stable place today. This much we know.”
Dozens of artists have shared tributes on social media honoring the late Lipsitz, including Emperor X and the Paranoid Style. “Mark was a great partner and longtime supporter at Bar/None Records,” wrote the Feelies. “He was tireless in his efforts in helping to promote the band, but at the same time he understood and ultimately appreciated what was important to us as individuals as we lived inside the world of music. He will be greatly missed.”
