How do you start out as a progressive Washington lawyer working alongside Ralph Nader and end up as a record label boss? Just ask Jim Musselman, founder of Appleseed Recordings, who is celebrating his label’s 100th record release this month. Musselman may have left his lawyering days behind, but he’s remained remarkably committed to social justice and a host of progressive causes. Indeed, Appleseed Recordings has a distinct political identity, fostering a kind of liberal ideology that hearkens back to the 1960s. The label has released recordings by influential artists from Pete Seeger to John Wesley Harding, garnering nine Grammy nominations and notching a Grammy win along the way. By offering artists full creative control, Musselman has managed to recruit some musicians who gave up on recording for years: Folks like Roger McGuinn, Donovan, Tom Rush, and David Bromberg. The label counts albums of Underground Railroad songs and a fundraising CD to combat homelessness among its first 100 releases. Musselman is a true believer in the ability of a song to change the world, a remarkable rarity in today’s music business. We caught up with Musselman to congratulate him on his label’s milestone and talk about putting the message over money, writing songs with the Boss, and bringing music to the masses.

Crawdaddy!: First of all, congratulations on the release of your 100th record. Did you ever think when you started Appleseed Recordings that you’d reach that kind of milestone?

Jim Musselman: I never thought we’d make it to 100. I started it because I had seen a void in music tied to social justice and social change, and also seen people not recording folk songs anymore, and the wonderful songs that were going to be lost after all these hundreds and hundreds of years if they weren’t recorded again. I wanted to put out music with a message of hope and healing and to record these folk songs, that were 200, 300, 400, even 500 years old, and we were in danger of them being lost forever. Immigrants would come to America and all they would bring were the clothes on their backs and their songs.

Crawdaddy!: Your label continues to put out socially conscious and politically aware records. But that’s becoming unusual in rock and even, perhaps, in folk music. Why do you think you’re the exception?

Musselman: I think for years there was a decline and people weren’t putting out music tied to social change. One of the problems with our label is we’re ahead of the curve. We opposed the Iraq War before it was commercially viable. We were called unpatriotic and against the President. By the time the tide changed, a lot of people were singing songs against the war that weren’t there in the beginning. We had people like Pete Seeger, Billy Bragg, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle; we were so ahead of the curve. I was glad to hear all the anti-war songs and songs dealing with the Bush Administration. But the time they were needed was during the invasion, at that time.

Crawdaddy!: You’ve said before that the music your label puts out can actually change the world. Do you think it’s as effective as, say, the advocacy work you did with Ralph Nader?

Musselman: Yeah, I think music can reach people in ways that other mediums can’t. Music touches an emotional chord in someone and tends to speak to people in a lot of ways. Back then, I would sit down with them and get musicians to support issues and perform and sing songs about the issues. It was a way to influence awareness. Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt would write a song about an issue, it would get out there quicker. For me, it was an outgrowth of what I did in Washington. What Pete Seeger did in the South, the way music could be used to make positive social change. Music can break down walls and build bridges between people with different political and social views. When I was working in Washington, I would travel to communities. I did a lot of work in Michigan with Michael Moore and others, and I saw the power of how the arts could reach people through films, music, and different aspects of the arts.

Crawdaddy!: You’ve released several records featuring or celebrating Pete Seeger. What’s your relationship like with him and how did that come to be?

Musselman: I have known Pete for a while, going back to Sing Out! magazine and working on environmental issues in Washington. When I started the label, I thought Pete was being underappreciated for all he had done and all the social change he had created. So I decided to bring attention to his music. I was amazed to see the response. He had gone from peace to labor to anti-war; he had been on the right side of so many issues for so many eras, so I wanted to use him to talk about social change.

Crawdaddy!: You’ve been quoted as saying that, “We are more than a record label—we are a vision, in many ways using music as a tool of social change and peace.” What do you mean, exactly?

Musselman: I think, with most labels the goal is to make money and survive from a commercial standpoint. My goal is to put out music that needs to be heard and sometimes music that most people don’t want to hear, like opposing the Iraq War and other issues. I feel the label is a vision of social change and social awareness. It’s not just about the music. Music is one aspect of what we do—a lot of our musicians have also been advocates working out there on environmental and peace issues. And then, the second half of that is to make musicians more aware and become more socially responsible. So, for years, I would try to get musicians to support various issues, people like Eddie Vedder, Steve Earle, and Bruce Springsteen. Actually, a seed we planted became Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions, which was Bruce doing songs of social justice. I had written some of a song and then sent it to Bruce and he had added some verses and that’s the folk process: Collaborative. It’s nice when those seeds get planted and positive things happen.

Crawdaddy!: Do you ever miss the advocacy work you did before forming the label? Do you think you’ll ever go back to working as a public interest lawyer?

Musselman: I think it’s very hard right now to work on issues. My heart still speaks to issues. Universal health care, for example, is important but lobbyists in Washington have gotten so strong that it’s so hard to do that work today. So I think the best way is to go straight to the people, to educate people through musicians and music about issues or anything else. I just think it’s become hard to create that social change because of the influence of lobbyists. When I was in Washington, in the ’80s, was when lobbyists were really getting their foothold. You can see the results of that in the healthcare discussion going on now.

Crawdaddy!: What’s next for the label? Do you think you have another 100 records in you?

Musselman: Whatever speaks to my heart and whatever speaks to my soul. I’ll continue putting out music by artists who have become legends and are involved in social change—keep putting out socially aware music.

Tags: Appleseed Recordings, Jim Musselman, Pete Seeger, activism, politics 

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