Wanted: Copies of The Trapman Report (1980s-1990s Radio Airplay Monitor)

[olliewhit]

Hi there!

I'm researching The Trapman Report, a radio airplay monitoring publication issued by The Trapman Company (originally based in Charleston, SC, later Fort Myers, FL). The report was published from approximately 1980 through the mid-1990s, covering formats including A/C, Oldies, AOR, Country, and Classic Rock.

What made The Trapman Report unique among industry publications was its completeness. Rather than distilling data down to a Top 40 chart, Trapman published every single title detected during multi-day monitoring windows — typically 120 contiguous hours per station. The Summer 1987 Adult Formats edition, for example, captured 19,060 titles across 15 stations including WROR (Boston), WMGK (Philadelphia), WMJI (Cleveland), WENS (Indianapolis), KYKY (St. Louis), KVIL (Dallas), KMGI (Seattle), KFMB-FM (San Diego), and KBIG (Los Angeles). The data was organized by artist, by title, by activity level across stations, and by individual station playlist, giving a complete musical fingerprint of each station's output, not just the hits.

Currently, only a single issue, Summer 1987, Adult Formats, is publicly available, hosted as a PDF on World Radio History (worldradiohistory.com). I'm looking for any of the following:

- Additional issues of The Trapman Report from any year (1980-1995) or format (A/C, Oldies, AOR, Country, Classic Rock)
- The Music Monitor Database System output or disks

Thanks for any leads!

 

[TexasTom]

I was curious to see the one edition that is on World Radio History. For anyone else who is curious, go to TRAPMAN REPORT: Airplay monitors from major US radio stations

 

[davideduardo]

Currently, only a single issue, Summer 1987, Adult Formats, is publicly available, hosted as a PDF on World Radio History (worldradiohistory.com). I'm looking for any of the following:

- Additional issues of The Trapman Report from any year (1980-1995) or format (A/C, Oldies, AOR, Country, Classic Rock)
- The Music Monitor Database System output or disks

I have been offering to buy any and all issues of this publication for more than 15 years and came up with one... just one.

 

[Markxxx]

I have been offering to buy any and all issues of this publication for more than 15 years and came up with one... just one.

Do you mean you offer to someone who has them and won't sell or do you mean you put a "general offer" out to anyone who may have some but no one has come forth to say they have any?

 

[jimjones1000]

Hi there!

I'm researching The Trapman Report, a radio airplay monitoring publication issued by The Trapman Company (originally based in Charleston, SC, later Fort Myers, FL). The report was published from approximately 1980 through the mid-1990s, covering formats including A/C, Oldies, AOR, Country, and Classic Rock.

What made The Trapman Report unique among industry publications was its completeness. Rather than distilling data down to a Top 40 chart, Trapman published every single title detected during multi-day monitoring windows — typically 120 contiguous hours per station. The Summer 1987 Adult Formats edition, for example, captured 19,060 titles across 15 stations including WROR (Boston), WMGK (Philadelphia), WMJI (Cleveland), WENS (Indianapolis), KYKY (St. Louis), KVIL (Dallas), KMGI (Seattle), KFMB-FM (San Diego), and KBIG (Los Angeles). The data was organized by artist, by title, by activity level across stations, and by individual station playlist, giving a complete musical fingerprint of each station's output, not just the hits.

Currently, only a single issue, Summer 1987, Adult Formats, is publicly available, hosted as a PDF on World Radio History (worldradiohistory.com). I'm looking for any of the following:

- Additional issues of The Trapman Report from any year (1980-1995) or format (A/C, Oldies, AOR, Country, Classic Rock)
- The Music Monitor Database System output or disks

Thanks for any leads!