payola

 
Pronunciation: /peɪˈəʊlə/

noun

[mass noun] chiefly North American
  • the practice of bribing someone in return for the unofficial promotion of a product in the media: if a record company spends enough money on payola, it can make any record a hit

Origin:

1930s: from pay1 + -ola as in Victrola, the name of a make of gramophone