I thought it would be interesting to share the legal definitions of what payola actually is.
Here are various dictionary entries:
PAYOLA
Merriam Webster – undercover or indirect payment (as to a disc jockey) for a commercial favor (as for promoting a particular recording)
Cambridge Dictionary – a secret payment to someone for doing something illegal in business.
Dictionary.com – a secret or private payment in return for the promotion of a product, service, etc., through the abuse of one’s position, influence, or facilities.
Britannica Dictionary – money that is paid to someone for illegally helping to sell or advertise a product
Vocabulary.com – When a radio station is paid money in exchange for frequently playing a certain song, that’s payola. If you bribe your local disc jockey to feature your latest hip hop track on her morning show, it’s payola.
Any media exposure that’s secretly paid for is considered payola, although it’s most common in the music industry. Radio stations can be legally paid to play music, but that has to be made clear during the broadcast — otherwise, it’s illegal. The word payola, from “pay off,” has been around since the 1930s, and in 1959, the US Senate launched the Congressional Payola Investigations, making payola a legal term (and a misdemeanor).