Hi @pwfletch,
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve having issues getting Apple Music to work on your system.
The support agent wasn’t correct here, you don’t need an Apple Music subscription to use it on Sonos as you can play your own music. One thing to check first, are you logged in on the Sonos app? I’ve seen a few users say this has stopped them from using Apple Music and giving this error. You can check this under the profile section of the app, where it will list your email under ‘Account’ if you’re logged in.
If you are, I’d suggest trying to reauthorize (or even remove and re-add) Apple Music with a different device running the Sonos app, such as a iPad, PC, or the Web Controller. Once you’ve re-added it, try playing it again on your iPhone. It would help to test on the other device as well to see if it’s isolated to your iPhone or across your whole system.
Let me know if any of the above helps!