Winamp news

For millions of people, the name 'Winamp' was synonymous with music a couple of decades ago. This program for Windows was capable of playing our MP3 files like no other, with a simple but very powerful interface and above all, customizable with 'skins' to our liking.
Like so many other programs, Winamp suffered greatly in the migration of users to smartphones; Although there was an official Winamp app for Android, it was not very successful as it was focused on playing music stored locally in the mobile memory, while streaming platforms such as Spotify were triumphing.

Today, not much remains of the original Winamp. Its creators, Nullsoft, were sold to Internet giant AOL and disappeared; and the Winamp brand ended up being sold to the Belgian company Radionomy, which announced ambitious plans to revive it.

Now, those plans have materialized with a new Winamp app, which was first launched for computers but did not take long to reach mobile phones. The Llama Group, the developer created by Radionomy for this project, has announced the limited release of the Winamp app for Android and iOS. At the moment, it is a closed 'beta' to which few users are allowed, but over time it will be opened to more people.

The new Winamp stands out for including music streaming functions, as well as for its new interface, more modern and adapted to current times; However, it is not a simple copy of Spotify, since its creators claim that they have managed to balance the needs of both users and creators. The result is called "Fanzone", a section from which we can follow our favorite artists, with exclusive access to their songs and original content such as publications and a merchandise store. Creators will be able to charge each user $1 each month to access this exclusive area. Therefore, instead of paying a fee that is divided among all the artists on the platform, at Winamp we will pay directly to the artists we like the most.

Winamp will continue to be a local music player, with access to sound files stored in the mobile memory; but with Fanzone, it aims to expand and monetize the service in a different way than the rest. It is clear that the company's plan is to attract users who may recognize the Winamp name to sign up for the Fanzone; although at the moment, the list of artists who have signed up seems somewhat short.

In reality, Winamp already had an app for Android, but the latest version dates back to 2014, after the fall of Nullsoft and the sale of the rights. The APK can still be found on the usual pages, although it is obviously an obsolete app at this point. In that sense, the new Winamp can fill a gap.

The new Winamp app is on Google Play, although we may not be able to install it yet as it is in closed beta.