What happens when an artist decides not to play the Spotify game?

Pop Americana artist Josh Raines — an Addiction Medicine doctor by day and musician by night — joins Ashley to talk about creating music that bops, building a community of ethical and equitable creatives, and releasing his new single everywhere except Spotify.

They dive into artist payouts, platform transparency, AI and rights concerns, and practical alternatives like Bandcamp, Subvert, Tidal, and Qobuz. Josh shares his story of returning to music, his three creative rules, why he refuses to tour, how his medical career shaped his boundaries, and the surprising results of his no-Spotify release day.

You’ll learn: what fans can do today to help, how to move playlists to other services, and why “one-degree changes” add up to real reform.

Guest links:
Website: joshrainesmusic.com • IG: @josh.rains.music • Petition: “Ethical & Equitable Changes to How Music is Created, Shared, Consumed, and Transacted”

More Show Notes: Coming soon (asap — check back!)

Making Noise is where artists and builders share the real story behind the music—no fluff, just signal.

Listen next: Josh’s new single “Hummingbird” (find it via his site/IG/Bandcamp).