A headliner is the main act in a music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

, or comedy

Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...

 performance. Generally, the headliner is the final act in a performance, preceded by the opening act(s)

Opening act

An opening act or warm-up act is an entertainer or entertainment act that performs at a concert before the featured entertainer...

.

In ticket sales, the name of the headlining act will generally be the only name or most prominent name on the ticket or advertising vehicle.

In music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, the headliner often reserves sole permissions to the name of the tour. Thus, tour names often reflect the name of the latest album or a popular song from the latest album of the headliner. Additionally, the headliner is often the most famous or prominent act in the performance.