What Was the 'Payola' Scandal?

Back in the 60s and 70s, the radio industry was flush with cash. DJs with greasy hair and greasier palms ruled the airwaves, passing judgement upon the thousands of records that slid their way courtesy of big, bloated labels with money to burn. Their job as official arbiters of cool was to pluck the chosen few singles destined for rotation out of the ever-mounting slush pile, the exposure of which to an eager listening public translated directly into sales. Given the glut of material that constantly flowed out of pressing plants across the country (with some labels releasing up to a hundred singles a week), record promoters had to work extra hard to make sure their clients scored airplay from the best-loved DJs on the choicest stations. Sometimes, phone calls weren’t enough—and that, my friends, is where payola comes in. Every time a label had a record really needed to push, it entered into a devil’s bargain with a chorus of disc jockeys singing the words that made Tom Cruise famous (before he went all batty): “Show me the money.”