Dear Readers, This month our Associate Editor has some comments he'd like to express, so I'm turning editorial duties over to him. Let us know what YOU think! The music industry is on a "guest artist" binge. I can hardly pick up an album these days without those words noted somewhere on the cover. What lies behind this trend that first appeared in the rap genre, but now stretches across them all? Is it good or bad for you as a music listener? That depends. In Hollywood these appearances are called "cameos" and can help hype a film by drawing fans of the star making an appearance. In much the same manner established stars "guesting" on a new band's album may help draw listeners who might otherwise never hear this new band. One of the biggest rap stars, "Puff Daddy," has been doing this all over the place, and a look at the singles chart over the past year is ample evidence of the power of having his name on a record. Artists themselves seem to have embraced this idea and are eager to accept an invitation to appear no matter where. Thus we get country stars on alternative records, metal stars on rap records, and everyone on "Mase's" record. At some point the question has to be asked, "Why am I buying this album?" Many diehard fans of certain artists have to have anything their idol appears on, even if it's for one song (and a lousy one at that). The record industry knows this and spares no effort to advertise these "guest appearances" in order to increase sales. What this has led to is a tremendous growth in one hit wonders whose talent doesn't hold up to close inspection. Instead of relying on their talent, bands are relying on someone else's to sell the public, and it becomes ever more difficult to pick and choose new music. I like to think that our habit here at AMZ, of looking at the whole album, goes beyond the glitz of "name brand" guests. Instead we look at whether the music the band delivers can stand on it's own. In the end talent runs true, and if the stage is empty when the guest departs, we'll point it out. The opinions expressed in this editorial are mine as Associate Editor of this magazine. If you agree or disagree with anything I write here, whether you're a fan, band, label, P.R. Firm or anyone else associated with the music industry, feel free to write to me at the address below and your comments will be published. Please send your comments, questions, or anything else you can think of to ACCESS to the MUSIC ZONE at marellg@music-reviewer.com See You In Cyber Space! Donn Jehs, Associate Editor