Someone who conforms; Someone who doesn't

There are many artists that conform to the standards of the music industry because they know thats what people want. Appealing to large amount of people will not only gain a larger audience making the artist more popular but it also means that they, as well as their managers and label executives, will earn lots of money. 

Artists that don't conform and create popular music that is new or interesting or have an interesting style or look a way that isn't stereotypical for a famous artist, may create new markets for these types of artists. If a singer looks a certain way that isn't usual, it will allow other similar artists to potentially break through and potentially become popular too.

This could be good and bad. Good because it allows a wider range of artists and allows people that may have been criticised because of the music they make or the way they look, to become popular. A reason it is bad because some people will think they have to be like this or to make music like this to be popular and they will just be trend-hoppers and not individuals.

An example of a popular artist that does conform is Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift was a young girl making Country music and now she makes Pop music. She is stereotypical and conforms because she is thin, white and tall almost like the average model. She has the look of the average beautiful pop star. The music she makes is also pop music which is obviously very popular, she changed from making Country music to Pop to gain more fans.

An example of a popular artist that does not conform is Sam Smith.

When Sam Smith first become popular he was chubby (not anymore now that he is really famous), which isn't really conventional and he is also openly gay. The music he makes is also not as generic; One of his first hits was a collaboration with House/Garage duo Disclosure and he also makes R&B more so than Pop music.