Because the music industry isn’t generating enough billable hours as it is! Actually, one of the angriest litigators of late has been Sirius XM Radio (see Sirius v. SoundExchange and A2IM), which makes this latest move seem like an aggressively calculated jab.

Earlier this week, Sirius quietly updated its Android app to include interactivity functions like rewind, pause, and skipping, not to mention program scheduling and automatic, pre-programmed channel-surfing.  This is now available to Android-using Sirius subscribers, and closely follows the announcement of a plan to launch a Pandora-like competitor.

This is a smaller subset of Sirius’ 22.3 million-strong subscriber base, though it’s the first stab at a far broader, multi-platform ‘SiriusXM 2.0.’  According to the company, 2.0 is is a ‘serious upgrade,’ one that will ‘ultimately span hardware, software, audio, and data services.’

See where this is going? Here are just some of the new features now enabled for Android smartphones and tablets, as described by Sirius to its customers.  This is available right now.

(1) Start Now allows subscribers to go back up to 5 hours to select and listen to previously broadcast programming on many channels, allowing them to hear SiriusXM content on their own schedules.

(2) Tune Start(TM) automatically starts the currently playing song from the beginning so listeners will hear the whole song when tuning to any music channel.

(3) Pause live radio and pick up where the listener left off. Listeners can replay a song or segment with a single click, or skip forward to hear what’s playing next.

(4) Show Finder(TM) is an easy-to-use electronic programming guide offering a complete list of what’s on over the next 7 days by channel, with the ability to set reminder alerts when favorite shows are broadcast.

(5) Organize favorite shows on one easy-to-access screen.

The question is whether this is legally allowed under current, non-interactive licensing structures and related agreements.  That includes a number of legal settlements related to earlier, time-shifting portables like the Pioneer Inno.  In the here and now, Sirius is ferociously fighting to establish direct-to-label deals to enable just this level of interactivity.

Perhaps there’s lots of arguing and research ahead, though asked Michael Robertson, currently head of time-shifting radio startup DAR.fm, whether these interactivity expansions were kosher.  He seemed skeptical.  “Don’t know about the lawsuits, but SiriusXM has the same license as Pandora, AccuRadio, etc. for their over-the-net service,” Robertson told us.

“None of those services allow any rewinding. So if I’m those other services I’m now at a disadvantage.”

“Is rewinding allowed by the licenses or not? If it is then how much is allowed? One song? 5? 10? I think net radio services will continue to let interactivity creep into the experience.”