I think it's more likely just an attempt to reduce their license fees. The music licensing societies (at least in the UK) have different classes of license, at

I think it's more likely just an attempt to reduce their license fees. The music licensing societies (at least in the UK) have different classes of license, at different price points, and licenses which allow "interactive use" are much more expensive. The distinction is (IANAL) about whether or not the user has detailed control over what tracks they listen to, and in what order. The features they're removing sound a lot like "interactive use": * Loved Tracks Radio: streaming your list of loved tracks * Playlists: streaming a list of tracks you've chosen for a playlist * Personal Tag Radio: streaming a list of artists, albums or tracks that you have tagged