By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 04/09/2026"Payola" is a word that old people like me just barely have context for and for anyone under fifty the word is likely a mystery, so a brief explanation is in order. 12/ 216312
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 04/09/2026"Payola" comes from a massive 1950s scandal over bribes that record labels paid to radio DJs and station managers to play their music. 13/ 116815
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 04/09/2026Radio stations were given the use of a scarce and precious resource - exclusive control over slices of the only electromagnetic spectrum in the universe - and were expected to program material that the American public would find enjoyable, edifying and educational. 14/ 114910
