What is the reason for long lists of performers on songs?

Cafe Society
1

This week’s US Billboard Hot 100 chart includes the following records:

  1. I Need A Girl (Part Two), P. Diddy & Ginuwine Featuring Loon, Mario Winans & Tammy Ruggeri
  2. Down 4 U, Irv Gotti Presents The Inc. Featuring Ja Rule, Ashanti, Charli Baltimore & Vita
  3. Move B***h, Ludacris Featuring Mystikal & Infamous 2.0
  4. If I Could Go!, Angie Martinez Featuring Lil’ Mo & Sacario
  5. Hey Ma. Cam’ron Featuring Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey & Toya

plus seven more songs in the style of “mainstar featuring anotherperson”

I’m curious why more and more songs list assemblages of performers. In the past, your might occasionally have a duet, but usually extra performers were uncredited backup singers. Are these songs now seen as similar to a TV show episode, so you have to list all of the “characters”. Are the producers just trying to get extra credit for their clients by adding as many as they can get away with? Is there a new rule on performer’s credits? I was just wondering about what seem to be a new, and somewhat confusing, trend.

2

A lot of those are major or semi-major stars, and most if not all are hip-hop, which is a genre where guesting is a strong feature. It’s less a case of ‘I paid these guys to appear on my record’ and more ‘I got my buddies to drop round and lend some rhymes to the song’.

Often, these rhymes are free-styled, or at least written by the rapper who performs them, and as such, they have a greater role in the making of the song than a session muso or backup singer would.

And of course, many of them are names that are going to help sell the song - Ja Rule, Ashanti and Mystikal in particular are famous enough that putting their name on the record draws attention and helps sales - star power.