Apple’s Bruce Sewell, in response to Spotify, as reported by BuzzFeed:

Our guidelines apply equally to all app developers, whether they are game developers, e-book sellers, video-streaming services or digital music distributors; and regardless of whether or not they compete against Apple. We did not alter our behavior or our rules when we introduced our own music streaming service or when Spotify became a competitor. Ironically, it is now Spotify that wants things to be different by asking for preferential treatment from Apple.

Sewell also addresses the potential antitrust issues that Spotify suggested in their original complaint, saying “There is nothing in Apple’s conduct that ‘amounts to a violation of applicable antitrust laws.’ Far from it.”

This spat will undoubtedly continue, but I don’t think Spotify’s complaints hold water. They’re in violation of Apple’s rules on a platform that doesn’t have a majority stake in the market — there are still more Android phones sold than iPhones. We can talk about the need for Apple to change their policies, but that’s not what Spotify is lobbying for.