Payola

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Criminal law
Elements
Actus reus Mens rea Causation Concurrence
Scope of criminal liability
Accessory Accomplice Complicity Corporate Mandated reporter Principal Vicarious
Severity of offense
Felony (or Indictable offense) Misdemeanor (or Summary offense) Infraction (also called violation)
Inchoate offenses
Attempt Conspiracy Incitement Solicitation
Offense against the person
Assassination Assault Battery Child abuse Concealment of a corpse Criminal negligence Domestic violence False imprisonment Frameup Harassment Street Home invasion Hate crime Homicide Human trafficking Intimidation Kidnapping Manslaughter (corporate) Mayhem Murder felony Homicide Negligent homicide Reckless homicide Robbery Stalking Stabbing Torture
Sexual offenses
Adultery Bigamy Child sexual abuse Cybersex trafficking Fornication Homosexuality Incest Indecent exposure Masturbation Obscenity Prostitution Rape Pederasty Sex trafficking Sexual assault Sexual harassment Sexual slavery Voyeurism
Crimes against property
Arson Arms trafficking Blackmail Bribery Burglary Cybercrime Embezzlement Extortion False pretenses Forgery Fraud Gambling Intellectual property violation Larceny Looting Payola Pickpocketing Possessing stolen property Robbery Smuggling Tax evasion Theft Trespass to land Vandalism Mischief
Crimes against justice
Against public justice Justice delayed Compounding Contempt Malfeasance in office Miscarriage of justice Judicial misconduct Misprision Perjury Perverting the course of justice
Crimes against the public
Apostasy Corruption Censorship violation Dueling Genocide Ethnic cleansing Hostage-taking Illegal immigration People smuggling Insider trading Smuggling Illegal consumption (such as drugs, alcohol, and smoking) Miscegenation Piracy Political corruption Regicide Terrorism Unreported employment Usurpation War crimes
Crimes against animals
Cruelty to animals Poaching Wildlife smuggling Bestiality
Crimes against the state
Lèse-majesté Treason Espionage Secession Sedition Subversion
Defenses to liability
Actual innocence Automatism Consent Defense of property Diminished responsibility Duress Entrapment Ignorantia juris non excusat Infancy Insanity Justification Might makes right Mistake (of law) Necessity Possession is nine-tenths of the law Provocation Sanctuary Self-defense Statute of limitations
Other common-law areas
Contracts Defenses Evidence Property Torts Wills, trusts and estates
Portals
Law
v t e

Payola, in the music industry, is the name given to the illegal practice of paying a commercial radio station to play a song without the station disclosing the payment. Under U.S. law, a radio station must disclose songs they were paid to play on the air as sponsored airtime.^[1] The number of times the songs are played can influence the perceived popularity of a song, and payola may be used to influence these meters. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) treats payola as a violation of the Sponsorship Identification Rules, which requires any broadcast of paid material to include a disclosure.^[1][2]

The term payola, coined by entertainment magazine Variety in 1938,^[3] is a combination of "pay" and "-ola", the latter of which is a suffix of product names common in the early 20th century, such as Pianola, Victrola, Amberola, Mazola, Crayola, Rock-Ola, Shinola, or brands such as the radio equipment manufacturer Motorola.^[4]