Nineties’ kids would remember Winamp, the media player for PCs that was released in 1997. For a long while it was extremely popular - “A media player with a heritage, and a vibrant community of 80 million active users worldwide today,” as the company likes to describe itself. Winamp’s popularity began to fade following a spate of “poorly-received” updates that were rolled out in the early 2000s. Post that, attempts were made to revive it a few times but it didn’t quite work out.
The music player is now all set to make a comeback, but here’s the thing -- its new avatar is going to be quite different from how many of us remember it. The company has promised an “innovative refresh of the world’s most iconic audio player” and this is the new redesign that is going to happen post the last update Winamp received in October 2018.
There is not enough information available about how things are going to be and might look like right now, but what’s coming is not a standard music player. The site says it is going to be a “unique space for creators” that will “connect closely with fans” and allow them to “earn a fairer income from doing what you love”. “Solo performer, band or label? Register now for updates on the new Winamp, and how to release your music to a brand-new audience,” the site adds.
According to AudioValley, which is the parent company of Winamp and Shoutcast, the new app is going to “become the one-stop platform for audio enthusiasts, which connects creators and consumers of music, podcasts, radio stations, audiobooks, and any other peripheral content.”
Going by this, the new Winamp sounds more like an audio streaming platform like Spotify rather than a media player as it used to be. As XDA Developers points out, it is possible that AudioValley might be using the original name to generate publicity for their new audio platform that otherwise might not get people’s attention.
The new Winamp will be available for beta testing soon and you can sign up for that on the site.
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