Payola is a term used to describe the practice of bribing a disc jockey (DJ) with money or gifts in exchange for playing a particular song on the radio. It is an illegal form of promotion and has been used since the early days of radio broadcasting. Bribe to a DJ is a phrase that describes the act of offering money or gifts to a DJ in order to get them to play a certain song on the radio. PAYOLA is the six-letter term used to describe this practice.