Artist research - Attracting an audience

A key to selling songs an albums is selling to your original fans whilst creating a product that branches out to other groups of fans. So it is important that you mix different styles to create something's unique and different to genre conventions. For example, a rapper working with a rock band to create a song.
In 2007 Rapper Kanye West worked with singer Chris Martin to create the song "Homecoming" , it mixed West's rapping with Coldplay's style of music.
The album cover in which the song appeared , named "Graduation". Used a colourful background with a Cartoon Bear in West's clothing on the front , a far cry from stereotypical rap album covers. The album enjoyed critical success and went on to be a platinum album.