Well, I might be breaking the record with the oldest thread resurrection with this one!
Winamp 6 is supposedly being released in 2019!
Yes, you read that right, Winamp is not only still around but might get a new major release version!
For those that may not remember, or weren't around back then, Winamp used to be *the* app for listening to MP3 files. It started life in 1997, ancient history when it comes to 'internet time', but it soared in popularity and still has a usebase even to this day. Frankel sold his company, Nullsoft, to America Online in 1999. America Online was rebranded to AOL around 2000 when it merged with Time-Warner. Nullsoft, under the ownership of AOL, shed most of its products to concentrate on Winamp and had a following of tens of millions of users, estimated to be about 60 million at one point. In the mid-2000's Nullsoft became a division of AOL Music. Unfortunately Winamp, under AOL, never was given the support it needed to take on the likes of Apple's iTunes and then streaming services. By 2014 Winamp had become nearly a forgotten item; it still had users but no where near the usage it once did. What remained of Nullsoft, including the Winamp assets, were sold to Belgian company Radionomy. AOL itself was split off from Time-Warner in 2006 before what was left of it was acquired by Verizon in 2015.
Under Radionomy there has been almost no action with Winamp since they acquired it. The last publicly released version of Winamp dates back to 2013 but updated beta versions (Winamp 5.8.x) found their way to the hands of dedicated users.
Now, nearing the end of 2018, Radionomy has announced that they're not only trying to revive the Winamp brand & software but will be releasing Winamp 6 in 2019!
“There will be a completely new version next year, with the legacy of Winamp but a more complete listening experience,” said Alexandre Saboundjian, CEO of Radionomy.
“You can listen to the MP3s you may have at home, but also to the cloud, to podcasts, to streaming radio stations, to a playlist you perhaps have built.”
“People want one single experience, I think Winamp is the perfect player to bring that to everybody. And we want people to have it on every device.”
The formerly beta 5.8 release, compatible with Windows 10, is expected to be formally released as a free app again and then have a 6.0 release in 2019. The 5.8 release is still the 'classic' app but with bug & compatibility fixes and all of the "Pro" paid features unlocked. Official clients for iOS and Android are planned to coincide with the 6.0 release.
While there will be a desktop client yet the emphasis will be on the mobile clients and tying together the various source of music & audio that today's typical mobile user might be listening to.
"You can listen to the MP3s you may have at home, but also to the cloud, to podcasts, to streaming radio stations, [and] to a playlist you perhaps have built," Saboundjian was quoted as saying. "People want one single experience. I think Winamp is the perfect player to bring that to everybody. And we want people to have it on every device."
What I found interesting is the inclusion of "to a playlist you perhaps have built" as part of the description of the planned revival. If they are able to build a client that could unify being able to use your own playlists from a variety of other streaming services in a single spot then that could be a huge game changer.
Winamp:
Winamp ��� It really whips the llama's ass!