Performer supports meeting with hired help in studio (7,8)
I believe the answer is:
session musician
'hired help in studio' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether it can be defined by this definition.
'performer supports meeting' is the wordplay.
'performer' becomes 'musician' (musician is a kind of performer).
'supports' means one lot of letters go next to another (bottom letters provide a support for the top ones).
'meeting' becomes 'session' (session is a kind of meeting).
'musician' put after 'session' is 'SESSION MUSICIAN'.
'with' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for session musician that I've seen is " Contract performer".)