Doesn't Spotify compete directly with Apple Music? In which case, wouldn't the message be "don't compete with us"?

Potential antitrust issues notwithstanding, it seems like such a message would be very much aligned with Apple's interests.

it has been "this will" and not "this does" for the better part of a decade, I think it's time for people to realize that theory and practice are two very different things and the first does not vindicate the second.