Show business In
show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a
musician or
actor) in an event such as a
music record or
concert,
show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other performing group. In music, such an outside performer is often referred to as a guest artist. In classical music, guest
orchestra conductors are a common practice. Guest artists should not be confused with
touring groups, troupes,
orchestra, or even individual artists, although the distinction may be blurred. In the case of touring, their act is independent in itself, while the guest takes part in the act of the resident staff. The duration of involvement of a guest artist may vary, from separate short-term acts with fees per concert to fixed temporary
contracts for several seasons.
Contemporary music In the early days of the
pop music industry the
bands were relatively stable units, and while guests were not uncommon, they were seldom given credits on album covers. For example,
Eric Clapton was not credited in print for his guitar performance in the release of "
While My Guitar Gently Weeps" of
The Beatles. Gradually guest appearances have become a fully credited staple of music industry. The custom of guest appearance has become especially prominent in
rap music, and this influenced
rock musicians as well. To have a guest star on a record, a
production coordinator must in many cases obtain permission from the
record label of the guest and make sure that proper credits are delivered to the host record label. Often credits appear in the form "
Artist name, courtesy of
Record Label name." The guests are often referred to as featured artists or featured guests. Such a performer may be annotated in credits or even in song titles by the abbreviation
feat. or further abbreviation
ft.; or by the word
with or abbreviation
w/. The specific
credit and
billing given to a given performer—"starring," "guest star," "special guest star," "also starring," etc.—is a matter negotiated between the production and the performer or their agent.
TV series In a
TV series, a guest star is an actor who appears in one or a few episodes (sometimes a
story arc). In some cases a guest star may play an important recurring character and may appear many times in a series, despite not being a member of the main cast; == Reasons for guest appearances ==