Before iTunes and Spotify, one of the most popular music file players was Winamp. Winamp was originally created by Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev while working for Nullsoft. Then Nullsoft was acquired by AOL for $80 million in 1999. And in January 2014, Belgian online radio company Radionomy purchased the Nullsoft brand, including Winamp and SHOUTcast. And now Winamp has made a comeback because Radionomy released Winamp 5.8 for Windows 10 earlier this week.
Originally, Radionomy CEO Alexandre Saboundjian was planning to have Winamp released next year. But a leaked version of Winamp 5.8 recently spread on the Internet so Radionomy decided to make the new version available right away. It is recommended that you download Winamp 5.8 from winamp.com since it is safe for you to use from there rather than a different version on the Internet. Currently, Winamp 5.8 only supports Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 so Mac users will not be able to try it out yet.
The plan for next year’s version of Winamp was to include podcasts, streaming radio stations, and playlists. Radionomy is also primarily focused on building a consistent app design across every platform such as iOS and Android. And there will be an emphasis on an improved version of search.
“There will be a completely new version next year, with the legacy of Winamp but a more complete listening experience,” said Saboundjian via TechCrunch. “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.”
TechCrunch pointed out that Winamp still has as many as a hundred million monthly users still. Most of those users are outside of the U.S.
