This attracted the attention of major media brands including AOL, which scooped up Nullsoft in June 1999 for $80 million in stock and continued to operate it as a subsidiary. By mid-1998, the program, which debuted as freeware but shifted to a shareware model after launch, had been downloaded over 3 million times. Winamp was an immediate hit with early adopters. Specifically, Geiss for Winamp creates a light show that "lets you fly through the sound waves of the music you're listening to." Try it sometime it is great fun. To this day, the only plugin I ever messed with was the visualization variety. ![]() There was an entire community behind Winamp modifications and many quality Winamp skins to choose from, although personally I always preferred the simple look of Winamp Classic. With scripting, they also added functionality to the player. Skins enabled to alter the visual look of the Winamp GUI. The GUI, resembling an aftermarket stereo head unit, felt period correct, but the real fun came in customizing the look and feel of the player through skins and plugins. Users also had access to an equalizer to alter frequency responses and a playlist to help you arrange tracks. Renamed "Winamp," the program added creature comforts like a color-changing volume slider and a spectrum analyzer. Watch the video version of this TechSpot feature. Early versions of the player - stylized WinAMP as a portmanteau of "Windows" and "AMP" (short for the Advanced Multimedia Products MP3 file playback engine it utilized) - offered rudimentary controls, but by the time version 1.006 launched only a few months later, its iconic GUI really started to take shape. This was right around the time that CD burners and MP3 sharing exploded in popularity, so it should come as little surprise that one of the first programs I downloaded was Winamp.ĭeveloped by Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev under the Nullsoft banner in 1997, Winamp is a media player that supports a wide array of audio formats including MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV and WMA, among others. My interest in music developed decades ago but didn't really solidify until I got my first computer just before the turn of the century. ![]() That exchange kept coming back to me later in the day. The first thing out of his mouth wasn't praise for my audio equipment but rather, a question about software: "You still use Winamp?" A bit taken by surprise, the best I could come back with was something along the lines of "Yeah, it's awesome." The company’s CEO Alexandre Saboundjian said: “Winamp is a top independent player that gives millions of people the best player functionality available,” he continued, “Its role is clear in the future evolution of online media, we plan to make the player ubiquitous, developing new functionalities dedicated to desktop, mobile, car systems, connected devices and all other platforms.Recently I had a friend over to whom I offered to audition my DIY PC speaker system. Part of the nostalgia around Winamp may have been why Radionomy stepped up and saved it. It’s also been reported that AOL will retain an interest in Radionomy going forward. Although TechCrunch has reported that the deal was valued between $5 and $10 million dollars in cash and shares of both properties. ![]() Mashable reported on Monday that Radionomy had acquired Winamp, Shoutcast and another AOL owned property relating to internet radio for an undisclosed amount. Luckily a Belgium online radio company called Radionomy has stepped up to the plate and saved Winamp, and the Llama, from an uncertain fate. Thanks for supporting the Winamp community for over 15 years.” See release notes for latest improvements to this last release. Please download the latest version before that date. Additionally, Winamp Media players will no longer be available for download. “ and associated web services will no longer be available past December 20, 2013. Winamp was eventually purchased by AOL, and as other music products came about from AOL and competitors the need for Winamp weakened, prompting AOL to post this notice on the Winamp download page in November: For children of the 80’s and 90’s who’s first experience with downloading music was Napster, we all knew Winamp because it “whipped the llama’s ass” a phrase coined by Dallas voice over artist JJ McKay and found at the start of every iteration of Winamp. Back in November we sadly reported that Winamp, most people’s first experience with an MP3 player, was being shut down.
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