Morgan Wallen has seen a surge of album sales after a video of him saying a racial slur spread online earlier this week.

The country star has faced strong consequences since the clip 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 emerged. According to MRC Data, Wallen sold 22,500 copies of his albums in the US on February 3 – a 339 percent increase from the day before.

The musician’s latest album ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’ sold 7,000 copies on the same day, giving him a 511 percent increase on the 1,000 copies that sold on February 2.

In contrast, the data shows a huge 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 neighbours and saw the star telling someone: “Take care of this pussy-ass n***a.”

“I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back,” Wallen said in an apology statement. “There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologise for using the word. I promise to do better.”

Big Loud, an imprint of Republic, said in a statement that they had suspended Wallen’s contract “indefinitely”. “Republic Records fully supports Big Loud’s decision and agrees such behaviour will not be tolerated,” they said.

Wallen stoked controversy last year when he was filmed breaking coronavirus regulations by parting with fans without wearing a mask. His planned appearance on Saturday Night Live was pulled at the last minute because of his actions, although he was invited onto the show later in the year.