Dropouts are a major source of poor quality video tape in the magnetic media industry. A dropout can arise from any defect, contamination or hole in a magnetic tape which causes a loss of magnetic signal and results in poor video picture quality. This article reports on the application of infrared microspectroscopy to the analysis of dropouts originating from small contaminations that result in magnetic signal losses. The technique uses infrared reflectance (both specular and diffuse) and is accomplished with very little sample preparation prior to the analysis.