payola

Related to payola: Payola scandal

payola

A payment made to have something promoted or receive special treatment, especially a musical album or single being featured on a radio station, without being disclosed as a sponsorship. His career was looking brighter and brighter until a payola scandal completely ruined him in the late '80s. The station is being investigated for receiving payolas from various record labels over the past 15 years.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

payola

(peˈolə)
n. a bribe. (Originally a bribe paid to a disk jockey by record producers to get extra attention for their records.) The announcer was fired for taking payola.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • plugola
  • accompany (one) with (some instrument)
  • accompany with
  • reproach
  • above reproach
  • you must be kidding (me)
  • cover story
  • put (one) on (one's) mettle
  • put somebody on their mettle
  • put someone on their mettle
References in periodicals archive
The Benguet governor said the lingering issue on the supposed chicken dung payola must be addressed to clear the board members' names.
WHISTLEBLOWER Letter from the BBC producer which named names in payola scandal.
Nevertheless a way must surely be found whereby both suppliers and clients can demonstrate that their commercial dealings have been entirely above board, that there have been no conflicts of interest, no bribery and no payola -- just good, tough but honest business.
Broven doesn't shy away from discussions of payola; he also details the activities of various disc jockeys, and offers comparisons of Billboard and Cash Box, the prevailing trade papers of the time.
But it should be noted Sean Garrett is not the enemy, nor is he some corpo coke-sniffer greasing DJ playlists with payola and continental breakfast on the label AmEx.
blogola: Old-fashioned payola. Used to influence bloggers to write about a given product, TV show, movie, etc.
The success of this second album took her down a career path that saw her collaborate with Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook, Jann Arden and Paul Hyde of Payola's fame.
This "pay to play" practice is known as payola and it is illegal.
Jack Heath's clear conflict of interest and misuse of the public airwaves is reminiscent of the problems that emerged on the radio in the 1960s and '70s when the concept of payola developed in the music industry.
Sony and BMG got their wrists slapped and a $10 million fine last week in a widening radio payola probe.
SONY ENTERTAINMENT AGREED in July to stop funneling payola to radio music programmers.
"Pundit payola" contributed to a winter of discontent in the newspaper world.
But the contract, which Williams did not disclose during his appearances on behalf of NCLB, may in fact violate federal laws against government propaganda and broadcast payola. After President Bush condemned the contract, the Education Department launched an investigation, as did the Federal Communications Commission and Congress' General Accountability Office.