Your favorite music player from the ’90s and early 2000s is still trying to make a comeback. Winamp confirms its “Winamp For Creators” platform has over 17,000 artists, and public versions of Winamp mobile for Android and iOS are still on track to arrive this year. Those Llamas better watch out!
In early 2023, a completely new version of Winamp arrived after years of silence. The classic version is still around, as is the original version of its latest service at player.winamp.com, available for both desktop and mobile browsers. However, in April, the company finally debuted Winamp Mobile, albeit in beta form, which is still under active development.
This week, Winamp dropped a press release detailing how it now has over 17,000 artists on the Creators platform, which aims to be something similar to Patreon, where fans can support artists and subscribe to music. As a result, artists have complete control over the distribution and monetization of their work. Sure, most of those songs came from another platform, Jamendo, which the parent company owns, but it’s a sign things are trending in the right direction.
According to Winamp, the platform hopes to have nearly 100,000 artists on board by the end of 2024. However, in the near term, it’ll still be releasing its NFT functionality within the next two months, along with finally releasing Winamp mobile to the public.
The press release said, “The final mobile versions of Winamp Player are also planned by the end of 2023.” Unfortunately, we’re not entirely sure how many features will be available. We don’t know if it will allow for playback of local media files in addition to streaming from creators, NFT integration, or other features.
Either way, if you’re looking for a bit of nostalgia, Winamp is currently available for both iOS and Android in beta, with the official version coming soon.
Source: BusinessWire
