Morgan Wallen saw a surge in album sales after a video of him saying a racial outburst spread online earlier this week.
The country star has faced strong consequences since the track surfaced, with his label Big Loud dropping him and radio stations removing his music from their playlists.
Despite this, sales in his albums increased in the 24 hours after the video initially appeared. According to MRC Data, Wallen sold 22,500 copies of his albums in the US on February 3 – an increase of 339 percent from the previous day.
The musician’s latest album ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’ sold 7,000 copies on the same day, an increase of 511 per cent compared to the 1,000 copies sold on 2 February.
In contrast, the data show a large decrease in airplay for Wallen at radio stations across the US. On February 3, his music was played 71 percent less than in the 24 hours before.
The video that caused Wallen to be dropped was filmed by one of his neighbors and saw the star say to someone, “Take care of this pussy n *** a.”
“I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial barrier that I would like to take back,” Wallen said in an apology. ‘There are never any excuses for using this type of language. I sincerely apologize for the use of the word. I promise to do better. ”
Big Loud, a print of Republic, said in a statement that they had suspended Wallen’s contract “indefinitely”. “Republic Records fully supports Big Loud’s decision and agrees that such conduct will not be tolerated,” they said.
Wallen sparked controversy last year when he was filmed violating coronavirus regulations by isolating himself from fans without wearing a mask. His planned appearance on Saturday Night Live was pulled at the last minute due to his performance, although he was invited to the show later that year.