Morgan Wallen Suspended From Record Label Over Racial Slur

Mr. Wallen has publicly apologized, saying, “I’m embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back.”

The distancing by his label, radio and streaming services pumps the brakes on what was a rocketing career for the country artist that many industry executives saw as poised to break through to a wider audience. Mr. Wallen is scheduled to tour this summer, but without the backing of many key industry players, his future career is in question. Live Nation Entertainment Inc., LYV 1.51% his concert promoter, hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

“I won’t be surprised if he loses most of the slots on some festivals, if they should actually occur this year or next,” said Nashville-based entertainment attorney and artist manager Zach Scott Gainous. Such contracts “likely allow for cancellation for so-called ‘immoral’ behavior,” he said.

The 27-year-old Mr. Wallen, widely considered country music’s biggest new star, has had the No. 1 album in the U.S. for three weeks straight. He has broken streaming records for country music, which historically has lagged behind hip-hop and other genres on streaming services.

On Wednesday, video footage circulated on social media of Mr. Wallen, stumbling in a parking area and saying the N-word. According to the website TMZ, Mr. Wallen had returned home on Sunday after carousing with friends in Nashville. A neighbor, disturbed by the noise, took the video, according to the report. Mr. Wallen made the slur while asking one of his friends to take care of a person in his group.

Citing “recent events,” Big Loud Records, one of Mr. Wallen’s two record labels, on Wednesday said on Twitter that it had suspended Mr. Wallen’s recording contract indefinitely. Mr. Wallen wasn’t dropped from the label. Big Loud said its partner for Mr. Wallen, Republic Records, part of Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record company, was in agreement. “Republic Records fully supports Big Loud’s decision and agrees such behavior will not be tolerated.” Republic Records didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Major radio networks including iHeartMedia Inc., IHRT -0.57% Cumulus Media Inc. and Entercom Communications Corp. pulled Mr. Wallen’s music from their airwaves. Though he has shown breakout success on streaming services, radio play remains a critical, make-or-break element to any star in the country genre.

Losing radio play will be a much bigger hit to Mr. Wallen than most popular artists, said Midia Research analyst Mark Mulligan, as 62% of country fans in the U.S. discover new music via radio, compared with 52% of overall consumers.

Streaming services Spotify Technology SA and Apple Inc.’s Apple Music removed Mr. Wallen from several major playlists, though his music remains available if listeners search for his name. Mr. Wallen also remains on Spotify’s less-popular “Best Country Songs of 2020” playlist.

“Ultimately, a hit like this on discovery platforms is very damaging but the impact will likely get bigger over time,” said Mr. Mulligan. “The comparison is artists who leave their labels and maintain their fan bases for a while but ultimately lose numbers because they do not have the marketing support to replace lost audiences with new fans.”

Mr. Wallen’s use of a racial slur is just the latest incident that has threatened to hinder his career. He was temporarily booted from a music appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in October after being seen on video openly flouting Covid-19 protocols. He posted an apology video to Instagram, saying “my actions this past weekend were pretty shortsighted.” He later appeared in December.

In May, he was arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct at a Nashville bar owned by Kid Rock. Mr. Wallen at the time apologized to Kid Rock and to fans for his behavior.

Radio and streaming services have struggled with how to handle bad behavior by the artists they promote. In 2018, Spotify introduced a “Hate Content and Hateful Conduct” policy, removing music from R&B star R. Kelly and rapper XXXTentacion from playlists created by staff—a move that went far beyond the previous practice of banning music with explicitly hateful lyrics. That touched off debate and stoked much criticism for allegedly targeting Black artists. Spotify walked back the policy three weeks later, saying it was rolled out hastily and “our role is not to regulate artists.”

Write to Neil Shah at [email protected] and Anne Steele at [email protected]