: undercover or indirect payment (as to a disc jockey) for a commercial favor (as for promoting a particular recording)
Examples of payola in a Sentence
These radio disc jockeys accepted payola to play particular songs.
payola in the music industry
Recent Examples on the Web
Read: How Google ran out of ideas But even if the payola is forced to end, that doesn’t mean competitors would arise or thrive in the search market.
—
Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 6 Aug. 2024
These promoters had monopolized radio airplay through payola and other questionable practices.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 25 July 2024
The internet, on the other hand, is capable of disseminating virtually limitless data, and therefore the payola laws don’t apply.
—Rebecca Jennings, Vox, 1 July 2024
The payola scandal of the 1950s, where radio DJs in the US were paid to play records, was one of the first big shots.
—Christopher Null, WIRED, 7 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for payola 
Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 6 Aug. 2024
These promoters had monopolized radio airplay through payola and other questionable practices.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 25 July 2024
The internet, on the other hand, is capable of disseminating virtually limitless data, and therefore the payola laws don’t apply.
—Rebecca Jennings, Vox, 1 July 2024
The payola scandal of the 1950s, where radio DJs in the US were paid to play records, was one of the first big shots.
—Christopher Null, WIRED, 7 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for payola
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'payola.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near payola
Cite this Entry
“Payola.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/payola. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
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payola
noun
pay·o·la
pā-ˈō-lə 
: a secret or indirect payment (as to a disc jockey) for a commercial favor (as for promoting a particular record)
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