Maybe I'm just weird, but I always hated Vancian casting. Arcanist/5e style casting is definitely preferable to Vancian for me, though it is a bit weird for a spontaneous caster. I'm not sure what you could have done other than letting them work like Clerics, though. I probably would have just given them a spellbook or something. On the bright side, it'll let me pick more of those cool Bard-only spells that I never have enough spells known to get. I only skimmed the stuff after the main class, but I like the look of it. Splitting off Inspiration from Performance was a good idea, especially since no one ever uses anything besides Inspire Courage anyways, so might as well make it an always-on thing.

Things I'm not a fan of:
Getting rid of Countersong/Distract. I know they're not used that often, but when you get to use Countersong as a Bard it always feels so good!
Only having Renown. Not every Bard is famous! Let me take the Obscurity talent in place of Renown at least, please.

And because I always like to end things on a positive note, I really liked the "Do You Know Who I Am?" feat and I can guarantee I'm gonna be taking it at some point.