Ed is not the villain, and the agreements are not necessarily illegal. There is a lawsuit pending on the matter from the allegedly-affected artists. There was a DoJ investigation that was settled out of court. [0] You'll note that the settlement specifically refers to anti-solicitation agreements; i.e., the involved companies would not actively cold-call each others' employees. A lot of people seem to pretend that these agreements prevented employees from crossing over companies after they initially expressed interest, which they did not.
Such agreements are standard practice in many industries, and if they're actually illegal, it's due to a technicality in a law with which few are familiar (anti-trust legislation), not due to some naturally-apparent moral imperative. It's obvious that the executives involved did not conduct their actions with the intent of hamstringing employee growth, but rather with the intent of maintaining stable operations and keeping turnover low. It's completely reasonable to understand this as a normal part of running a business, especially considering that such agreements are common across industries.
Don't fall for the hyperbolic narrative from artist's trade outlets who are trying to manufacture rage to serve their own interests.
Such agreements are standard practice in many industries, and if they're actually illegal, it's due to a technicality in a law with which few are familiar (anti-trust legislation), not due to some naturally-apparent moral imperative. It's obvious that the executives involved did not conduct their actions with the intent of hamstringing employee growth, but rather with the intent of maintaining stable operations and keeping turnover low. It's completely reasonable to understand this as a normal part of running a business, especially considering that such agreements are common across industries.
Don't fall for the hyperbolic narrative from artist's trade outlets who are trying to manufacture rage to serve their own interests.
[0] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-requires-s...