Agreed, I came here to say the same thing, namely this is a PR fluff piece, not serious journalism. I don't believe there is a records executive at any of the major 3 labels that is legitimately concerned about Spotify gaining "leverage" over them. And like you mentioned Apple seems to be quietly growing its subscribers in leaps in bounds:

https://9to5mac.com/2017/02/13/apple-music-subscribers-past-...