I'm not sure why any of the things you describe require a Sonos operated service. An app on the smartphone should be able to communicate directly with your Son

I'm not sure why any of the things you describe require a Sonos operated service. An app on the smartphone should be able to communicate directly with your Sonos via Bluetooth or local WiFi. The Sonos can then (over the local protocol) inform the app of what services and media are available on that Sonos unit. A not-so charitable guess would be that Sonos keeps close tabs on what you listen to.