Run The Trap
Run The Trap is an independent online music media publication covering underground trap, EDM, hip hop, and bass music genres through editorial premieres, free downloads, festival coverage, and curated Spotify playlists, monetized via advertising for a global audience of electronic music fans.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Run The Trap does
Run The Trap monetizes exclusively through advertising and sponsorships, including display ads, sponsored editorial content, promotional placements for artists, labels, and festivals, and branded Spotify playlist integrations. Distribution is entirely through owned digital channels: the runthetrap.com website, a Twitter/X account (@RUNTHETRAP), an Instagram account with approximately 502k followers, and an email newsletter signup. The publication also maintains partnerships with music festivals (Shambhala Music Festival, Lost In Dreams Festival) and labels (MONTA Records), and operates as a founder-owned private company with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, mobile applications, or proprietary technology stack beyond a standard WordPress CMS.
Run The Trap firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Run The Trap
- Legal name
- Run The Trap
- Website
- https://runthetrap.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Run The Trap is an independent online music media publication covering underground trap, EDM, hip hop, and bass music genres through editorial premieres, free downloads, festival coverage, and curated Spotify playlists, monetized via advertising for a global audience of electronic music fans.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Run The Trap industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Media & Editorial Publishing
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ad-Supported Music Streaming (Freemium Tiers) (MPAIACAO)
Keywords
Where Run The Trap is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Run The Trap business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Advertising & Sponsorships: The site generates revenue through display advertising, sponsored content, and promotional placements for music releases, artists, and festival coverage. The platform also features branded playlist integrations with Spotify.
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Run The Trap product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Run The Trap is an independent online music media publication and blog that publishes editorial coverage of trap, EDM, hip-hop, future bass, dubstep, house, and related bass music genres. Its core offerings include news articles, exclusive track premieres, artist features, festival and event coverage, free music downloads, curated Spotify playlists, and the recurring "Too Future. Thursdays" guest mix series. The platform is free to consumers and monetized through advertising, sponsored content, and brand integrations.
Product overview
Run The Trap operates as an online music media platform and blog focused on electronic dance music, trap, and hip hop genres. The core offering is its editorial content platform featuring news articles, artist premieres, and music reviews. Supporting content verticals include the Too Future. Thursdays music series with curated playlists, an exclusives and premieres section for emerging artists, video content, event coverage, and a newsletter subscription service for audience engagement. The platform does not offer a proprietary product, app, or technical integration layer.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Too Future. A Thursday guest mix series featuring electronic music artists
Products and services
- Run The Trap Music Blog Online music blog and media platform providing news, reviews, premieres, and editorial coverage of trap music, EDM, hip hop, and related electronic music genres, targeting individual fans and followers of underground and emerging bass music.
- Too Future. Thursdays
Companies that use Run The Trap
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Run The Trap technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Run The Trap partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Shambhala Music FestivalminorRun The Trap partnered with Shambhala Music Festival, an annual electronic music festival held in British Columbia. The partnership involved guest mix collaborations and promotional content sharing for the festival.
- Lost In Dreams FestivalminorRun The Trap has partnered with Lost In Dreams Festival, a multi-genre festival featuring EDM and bass music acts. The platform provides coverage and promotional support for the festival, with links to festival information and artist lineups.
- MONTA RecordsminorRun The Trap features premieres and releases from MONTA Records, including coverage of artist Lizdek's album 'DUALITY'. The platform serves as a promotional outlet for label releases.
- SpotifycoreRun The Trap maintains an official presence on Spotify with curated playlists ('RUN THE TRAP on Spotify' and 'Too Future' playlist). The partnership enables music discovery and streaming distribution of featured artists and releases.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Run The Trap competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Complex: Complex is a large-scale music, streetwear, and culture media brand covering hip-hop and electronic music in a similar convergence of music editorial and lifestyle content, but at significantly larger scale and broader vertical coverage than RTT.
- Billboard: Billboard is the dominant mainstream trade and consumer music publication covering the full music industry including dance/electronic charts. It overlaps with RTT in artist premieres and dance coverage but operates at vastly larger scope as a global incumbent.
- Pitchfork: Pitchfork is the established editorial authority in independent music criticism and coverage — broadly comparable to RTT's editorial + discovery + review stack but covering all genres with a far larger audience and professional review credibility.
- Mixmag: Mixmag is an established global electronic dance music publication covering the same ecosystem of artists, festivals, and labels as RTT, but operating as a much larger incumbent with print heritage, video, and a globally distributed brand.
- The FADER: The FADER is an independent music and culture magazine that combines editorial music coverage with artist features in a similar blend of long-form journalism and discovery content as Run The Trap, but at broader musical and lifestyle scope.
- Stereogum: Stereogum is a long-running independent music blog publishing news, premieres, reviews, and features — comparable to RTT as an editorial-first music publication, but with a broader genre remit beyond electronic/bass music.
Direct peers
- Your EDM: Your EDM is an electronic music blog publishing news, premieres, and listener-focused editorial content — the closest direct peer to Run The Trap in terms of tone, audience (bass/EDM fans), and ad-driven revenue model.
- ThisSongIsSick: ThisSongIsSick is a bass-music and electronic music blog offering free downloads, premieres, festival coverage, and curated playlists — directly comparable to RTT's premiere + free download + Spotify playlist editorial stack.
- Dancing Astronaut: Dancing Astronaut is an electronic dance music news, reviews, and premieres outlet operating the same niche editorial + ad-supported model as Run The Trap, with overlapping artist and festival coverage and similar genre positioning in mainstream EDM coverage.
- EDM.com: EDM.com is a long-running electronic dance music publication delivering news, festival coverage, artist features, and editorial reviews — directly mirroring RTT's mix of editorial content, ad/sponsorship monetization, and event partnerships.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Run The Trap social profiles
Digital presenceRun The Trap financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Run The Trap leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Run The Trap funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Run The Trap M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Run The Trap
What does Run The Trap do?
Run The Trap is an independent online music media publication and blog that publishes editorial coverage of trap, EDM, hip-hop, future bass, dubstep, house, and related bass music genres. Its core offerings include news articles, exclusive track premieres, artist features, festival and event coverage, free music downloads, curated Spotify playlists, and the recurring "Too Future. Thursdays" guest mix series. The platform is free to consumers and monetized through advertising, sponsored content, and brand integrations.
Is Run The Trap a public or private company?
Run The Trap is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Run The Trap founded?
Run The Trap was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Run The Trap based?
Run The Trap is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Run The Trap make money?
One revenue line is on record: advertising & Sponsorships.
Who are Run The Trap's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Complex, Billboard, Pitchfork, Mixmag, The FADER and Stereogum. Direct peers are Your EDM, ThisSongIsSick, Dancing Astronaut and EDM.com.
Does Run The Trap have an API?
No public API is recorded for Run The Trap.
What industry is Run The Trap in?
Run The Trap's product category is Music Media & Editorial Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIACAO, Ad-Supported Music Streaming (Freemium Tiers). Its SIC code is 7990.