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| Morgan Wallen dropped from music stations after racist tirade. |
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PROTECT BLACK WOMEN!
WEAR A DAMN MASK! SAVE A LIFE!
HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE NOW!
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WHITE PRIVILEGE IS REAL!
YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID!
A country music star's record sales surged in the wake of an incident where he hurled racial slurs. A neighbor recorded him make offensive remarks and soon he saw a digital dash.
Just last year he was nearly banned from SNL after he ignored the coronavirus pandemic to perform in a packed nightclub in Nashville. They pulled his performance due to his refusal to wear facial protection.
Unrepentant behavior has significant consequences.
White nationalists invented this new term: cancel culture.
It is supposedly a common Karen-theme made by white privilege folks who say they are being silenced from speaking their minds. Apparently capitalism plays a role in cancel culture.
When folks use their freedom of speech to protest, boycott and divest in controversial themes: its cancel culture.
So now country music stations and his own record label immediately dropped him. He was roundly condemned by fellow entertainers and he is begging for forgiveness.
However his closest allies said this was a normal thing.
Country singer, Morgan Wallen, issued an apology for using the N word.
— Natasha 𓇼 (@ndelriego) February 3, 2021
“I’m embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back....”
Listen, the only reason that word even comes out is because it’s part of your vocabulary. pic.twitter.com/tnU3D9n8YS
On February 2, 2021, TMZ posted a video clip (recorded on January 31) showing Morgan Wallen using the word "NIGGER" with friends as they were entering his Nashville home.
"Take care of this "pussy-ass motherfucker," Wallen can be heard saying, before adding "take care of this pussy-ass NIGGER," apparently in reference to one of the people with his group.
"I'm embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back," Wallen said in a statement. "There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better."
TMZ reported that one of Wallen's neighbors recorded the exchange.
Following backlash on the internet, Wallen admitted to using the racial slur and posted an apology. SiriusXM Satellite Radio, iHeartRadio, Entercom, and Cumulus Media, issued directives to their stations to remove Wallen's music from airplay. Wallen's songs and promotional photographs were removed from Apple Music, Pandora and Spotify playlists.
The following day, CMT and the Country Music Association announced the removal of Wallen's appearances from all of their platforms, and Wallen's record label Big Loud (and partner Republic Records) suspended its recording contract with him indefinitely.
On February 3, 2021, the Academy of Country Music announced that Wallen and his latest album Dangerous: The Double Album would be ineligible for the 56th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
Fans of Morgan Wallen are buying up the country star’s latest album after a video showed him shouting a racial slur last week.
Wallen "Dangerous: The Double" Album retains its top spot for a fourth week on Billboard’s all-genre albums chart, less than a week after Wallen apologized for using racist language.
The country music industry acted swiftly to publicly rebuke him and radio stations and streaming services removed his songs from their playlists. But fans responded by playing him even more.
Billboard reports that his latest album sold 25,000 copies during the week ending Feb. 4, an increase of 102%, according to MRC Data. Billboard reported that that the album’s streaming numbers slightly increased by 3%, representing roughly 160 million on-demand streams. Song downloads from the album also went up by 67%.
The bump in interest extended beyond just Wallen’s current album. Daily sales of his first album "If I Know Me," released in 2018, also increased from 200 to 2,500 on the week ending Feb. 4, according to data provided by MRC Data.
Wallen’s popularity had skyrocketed in the last year and songs like "Seven Summers" and "Wasted on You" earned him crossover success on pop radio. His album was already setting streaming records and is the first country album to spend four weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart since 2003, when Shania Twain's album "Up!" spent five weeks at the top.
Hannah Karp, Billboard's editorial director, said that some uptick in interest in his music is coming from people who are curious about Wallen in the wake of the scandal and media attention. But she said that also shows how his fans are responding to decisions to remove him from the radio as well.
"His fans are likely streaming him more because they can't hear him on the radio anymore," said Karp. "Some fans may be streaming him more in addition to show their support for him, which is something that super fans and fan armies often do."
Karp noted that in general album sales and downloads are much smaller than streaming numbers for all artists, so it doesn't take much to cause large percentage jumps in sales.
Karp said that it may be too early to predict the long-term consequences for Wallen.
"We haven't seen the full effect of radio dropping his music from playlists. Radio is a really powerful driver of consumption, so it's possible that will end up in decreasing streaming and sales eventually," she said.
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