Version 1 of Winamp was released in 1997, along with basic counterparts forMS-DOS andMacintosh, and quickly grew popular with over 3 million downloads,[8] paralleling the developing trend ofMP3file sharing. Winamp 2.0 was released on September 8, 1998. The 2.x versions were widely used and made Winamp one of the most downloaded Windows applications.[9] By 2000, Winamp had over 25 million registered users[10] and by 2001 it had 60 million users.[11] A poor reception to the 2002 rewrite, Winamp3, was followed by the release of Winamp 5 in 2003, and a later release of version 5.5 in 2007. Winamp forAndroid was released in 2010. The last AOL-developed version, Winamp 5.666, was released in 2013.
After a five-year hiatus, Winamp 5.8 (written as Winamp 5.) was leaked to the public in 2018[12] before its eventual release by Radionomy;[13][14] development has since resumed[15][16] with the latest version 5.9.2 released on April 26, 2023. Its developer Radionomy has since rebranded as Llama Group (later Winamp Group) and launched a streaming service that allows users to support artists by buying perks orNFTs.[17][18][19] The service launched on the web in April 2023, followed by beta apps for Android andiOS in July 2023.[20] In September 2024, Llama Group partially released the Winamp source code for Windows under a customsource-available license; the source repository was deleted soon afterwards following criticism for its license terms and inclusion of proprietary code.[21]
Winamp supports music playback usingMP3,MIDI,MOD,MPEG-1 audio layers1 and2,AAC,M4A,FLAC,WAV, andWMA. Winamp was one of the first widely used music players on Windows to support playback ofOgg Vorbis by default.[22] It supportsgapless playback for MP3 and AAC andReplayGain for volume leveling across tracks. CD support includes playing andimporting music fromaudio CDs, optionally withCD-Text, andburning music to CDs. The standard version limits maximum burn speed and datarate; the "Pro" version removes these limitations.[23] Winamp supports playback of Windows Media Video andNullsoft Streaming Video. For MPEG Video, AVI, and other unsupported video types, Winamp uses Microsoft'sDirectShow API for playback, allowing playback of most of the video formats supported byWindows Media Player. 5.1Surround sound is supported where formats and decoders allow.[24]
Media Library
At installation, Winamp scans the user's system for media files to add to theMedia Library database.[25] It supports fullUnicode filenames and Unicodemetadata for media files.[26] In theMedia Library user interface pane, underLocal Media, several selectors (Audio,Video, date, and frequency) permit display of subsets of media files with greater detail.[25]
Adding album art and track tags
Get Album Art permits retrieval of cover art, and confirmation before adding the image to the database.Autotagging analyzes a track's audio using theGracenote service and retrieves the song's ID2 and ID3 metadata.[25]
WinampMedia Monitor allows web-based browsing and bookmarking music blog websites and automatically offering for streaming or downloading all MP3 files there. TheMedia Monitor is preloaded with music blog URLs.[25]
Winamp Remote
Winamp Remote allows remote playback (streaming) of unprotected media files on the user's PC via the Internet.Remote adjusts bitrate based on available bandwidth, and can be controlled by web interface,Wii,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360, and mobile phones.[25]
Plug-ins
In February 1998, Winamp was rewritten as a "general-purpose audio player"[29] with aplug-in architecture. This feature was received well by reviewers.[30][31] Development was early, diverse, and rapid: 66 plugins were published by November 1998.[32] TheWinampsoftware development kit (SDK) allows software developers to create seven different types of plug-ins.[33]
Skins are bitmap files that alter the aesthetic design of the Winampgraphical user interface (GUI) and can add functionality with scripting.[39] Winamp published documentation on skin creation[40] in 1998 with the release of Winamp 2 and invited Winamp users to publish skins on Winamp.com. As of 2000, there were nearly 3,000 Winamp skins available.[41][42] The ability to use skins contributed to Winamp's popularity early in MP3 development.[43] With the increasing number of available skins,genres or categories of skins developed, such as "Stereo", "Anime", and "Ugly". Online communities of skin designers such as 1001Skins.com and Skinz.org have contributed thousands of designs;[44][45] also at GnomeArt.[46] Designers see skins as an opportunity to be creative:[47] nontraditional examples have includedKlingon,iPod, andEtch-a-sketch designs.[48] The Winamp skin format is the most popular, the most commonly adopted by other media player software, and is usable across platforms.[49] One example is theXMMS player forLinux andUnix systems, which can use unmodified Winamp 2 skin files.[50][51] Winamp 5 supports two types of skins – "classic" skins designed to Winamp 2 specifications (static collections ofbitmap images), and more flexible, freeform "modern" skins per the Winamp3 specification. Modern skins support truealpha channel transparency,scripting control, a docked toolbar, and other innovations to the user interface.[52]
WinAMP 0.2a, 21 April 1997[53]WinAMP 0.92, May 1997[53]
Winamp was first released in 1997, whenJustin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev,[5][6][7] formerly students at theUniversity of Utah, integrated theirWindows user interface with the Advanced Multimedia Products ("AMP") MP3 file playback engine.[54] The name Winamp (originally spelled WinAMP) was aportmanteau of "Windows" and "AMP".[55] The minimalist WinAMP 0.20a was released as freeware on April 21, 1997.[56][57]
Its windowless, menu bar-only interface showed only play (open), stop, pause, and unpause functions. A file specified on the command line or dropped onto its icon would be played. MP3 decoding was performed by the AMP decoding engine developed by Advanced Multimedia Products co-founderTomislav Uzelac, which was free for non-commercial use.[58][59][60] It was compatible withWindows 95 andWindows NT 4.0. Winamp was the secondreal-time MP3 player for Windows, the first beingWinPlay3.[61]
WinAMP 0.92 was released as freeware in May 1997. Within the standard Windows frame and menu bar, it had the beginnings of the "classic" Winamp GUI: dark gray rectangle with silver 3D-effect transport buttons, a red/green volume slider, time displayed in a greenLED font, with track name, MP3 bitrate, and "mixrate" in green. Overlength titles appear as slowly scrolling text (or "marquee"). Theskeuomorphic design somewhat resemblesshelf stereos. There was no position bar, and a blank space where thespectrum analyzer andwaveform analyzer would later appear. Multiple files on the command line or dropped onto its icon were enqueued in the playlist.
Version 1.006 was released June 7, 1997,[8][62] renamed "Winamp", with "amp" now in lowercase. It showed a spectrum analyzer and color-changing volume slider, but no waveform display. The AMP non-commercial license was included in itshelp menu.
According to Tomislav Uzelac, Frankel licensed the AMP 0.7 engine June 1, 1997.[63] Frankel formally foundedNullsoft Inc. in January 1998 and continued development of Winamp, which changed from freeware to $10shareware.[8] Despite the fact that there would be no extra features by paying $10, Winamp's popularity and warm reception brought Nullsoft $100,000 a month that year from $10 paper checks in the mail from paying users.[11]
In March, Brian Litman, managing co-founder with Uzelac of Advanced Multimedia Products, which by then had been merged into PlayMedia Systems, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Nullsoft, claiming unlawful use of AMP.[64] Nullsoft responded that they had replaced AMP with Nitrane,[53] Nullsoft's proprietary decoder, but Playmedia disputed this.[citation needed] Third-party reviews found that Nitrane had bugs that resulted in playing back MP3s incorrectly, and that this resulted in unstable tones being added to the playback, and undoubtedly therefore violated the ISO standard. This also means that Nitrane was unlikely to have been based on the AMP software, and was more likely evidence of a hastily written MP3 decoder that didn't concern itself with standards compliance.[65]
Version 1.90,[53] released March 31, 1998, was the first release as a general-purpose audio player, and documented on the Winamp website as supporting plugins, of which it included two input plugins (MOD andMP3) and a visualization plugin.[29]
The installer for Version 1.91, released 18 days later, includedwave,cdda, andWindows tray handling plugins, as well as the famousWesley Willis-inspired DEMO.MP3 file"Winamp, it really whips the llama's ass".[66][67]Mike the Llama is the company mascot.[53]
By July 1998, Winamp's various versions had been downloaded over three million times.[8]
Winamp 2.0 was released on September 8, 1998. The new version improved the usability of the playlist, made the equalizer more accurate, and introduced more plug-ins. The modular windows for playlist and equalizer now matched the player's skin and could be moved around and be separated or "docked" to each other anywhere in any order.
The 2.x versions were widely used and made Winamp one of the mostdownloaded pieces of software forWindows.[9] By the end of 1998, there were already over 60 plugins and hundreds of skins made for the software.[68]
PlayMedia filed a federal lawsuit against Nullsoft in March 1999. In May 1999, PlayMedia was granted aninjunction by Federal JudgeA. Howard Matz against distribution of Nitrane by Nullsoft, and the same month the lawsuit was settled out-of-court with licensing and confidentiality agreements.[57] Soon after, Nullsoft switched to anISO decoder from theFraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the developers of the MP3 format.
Winamp 2.10, released March 24, 1999, included a new version of the "Llama"demo.mp3 featuring a musicalsting andbleating.
Nullsoft was purchased byAOL in June 1999 for $80 million in stock,[53] with Nullsoft becoming a subsidiary.[10][69] AOL itself merged withTime Warner in 2000.
Nullsoft relaunched the Winamp-specific winamp.com in December 1999 to provide easier access to skins, plug-ins, streaming audio, song downloads, forums, and developer resources.
As of June 22, 2000, Winamp surpassed 25 million registrants.[10]
The next major Winamp version, Winamp3 (so spelled to includemp3 in the name and to mark its separation from the Winamp 2 codebase), was released on August 9, 2002. It was a complete rewrite of version 2, newly based on the Wasabi application framework, which offered additional functionality and flexibility.[70] Winamp3 was developed parallel to Winamp 2, but "many users found it consumed too many system resources and was unstable (or even lacked some valued functionality, such as the ability to count or find the total duration oftracks in aplaylist)".[71][70] Winamp3 had nobackward compatibility with Winamp 2 plugins, and theSHOUTcast sourcing plugin was not supported. No Winamp3 version of SHOUTcast was ever released.
In response to users reverting to Winamp 2, Nullsoft continued the development of Winamp 2 to versions 2.9 and 2.91 in 2003,[72] even alluding to it humorously.[73] Thebeta versions 2.92 and 2.95 were released with the inclusion of some of the functionality of the upcoming Winamp 5. During this period the Wasabi (software)|Wasabi cross-platformapplication framework andskinnableGUI toolkit was derived from parts of the Winamp3 source code. ForLinux, Nullsoft released analpha version of Winamp3 on October 9, 2001, but has not updated it despite continued user interest.[74]
During this time Winamp faced stiff competition fromApple'siTunes.[11]
Winamp 5 was based on the Winamp 2 codebase, but with Winamp3 features such as modern skins incorporated via a plugin,[75] thus incorporating the main advantages of both products. Regarding the omission of a version 4, Nullsoft joked that "nobody wants to see a Winamp 4 skin" ("4 skin" being a pun onforeskin).[76] It was also joked that "Winamp 5 is so good they skipped a number" and "Winamp 2+3=5,".[76] Winamp 5.0 was released in December 2003. A blue themed "Modern" skin became the default interface. The media library was improved, CD burning and ripping was introduced, and other additions.
The original Nullsoft team quit in 2004. As of version 5.1, Winamp development is credited to Ben Allison (Benski) and Maksim Tyrtyshny.[77]
From version 5.2 onwards, support for synchronizing with aniPod and other portable music players is built-in.[78] This was developed by Will Fisher, as a re-write of the open sourceml_ipod plug-in.
Winamp 5.5: The 10th Anniversary Edition was released on October 10, 2007,[79] ten years after the first release of Winamp (apreview version had been released on September 10, 2007). New features to the player included album art support, improved localization support (with several officially localized Winamp releases, including German, Polish, Russian, and French), and a new default interface skin called "Bento" which unlike the previous skins is a unified player and media library in one window as opposed to a multi-window interface.[80] This version dropped support forWindows 9x.[25][81]
Winamp 5.621, when listening to theSHOUTcast stream
Winamp 5.6 was released in November 2010[82] and featuresAndroid Wi-Fi support and direct mouse wheel support. Fraunhofer AAC codec with VBR encoding support was implemented. Moreover, the option to write ratings to tags (for MP3, WMA/WMV,Ogg, andFLAC) was added. Hungarian and Indonesian installer translations and language packs were added.
With the release of Winamp version 5.66 on November 20, 2013,AOL announced that Winamp.com would shut down on December 20, 2013, and Winamp would cease to be offered for download after that date.[83]
Winamp 5.666, running in Classic mode
Five days later, version 5.666 was released with the "Pro" and "Full" installers being one and the same, in the process removing OpenCandy, Emusic, AOL Search, and AOL Toolbar from the installation bundle. This was announced to be the last release of Winamp from AOL/Nullsoft.[84]
There was a Winamp 5.7 beta program for an invitation-based Winamp Cloud feature, which would let Winamp play a user's entire cloud-stored music library across all supported devices.[85] This feature would have allowed AOL to provide a music locker service that would essentially compete with otheronline music lockers. The beta program was cancelled months before the announcement to shut down the Winamp project.[86]
On November 20, 2013, AOL announced that it would shut down Winamp.com on December 20, 2013, and the software would no longer be available for download nor supported by the company after that date.[83] The following day, an unofficial report surfaced thatMicrosoft was in talks with AOL to acquire Nullsoft.[87][88] Despite AOL's announcement, the Winamp site was not shut down as planned, and on January 14, 2014, it was officially announced that Belgian online radio aggregator Radionomy had bought the Nullsoft brand, which includes Winamp and SHOUTcast. No financial details were publicly announced.[89][90] However,TechCrunch reported that the sale of Winamp and Shoutcast was worth between $5 and $10million, with AOL taking a 12% stake (a financial, not strategic, investment) in Radionomy in the process.[91]
Radionomy relaunched the Winamp website, and the software was available for download again. In December 2015,Vivendi bought a majority stake in Radionomy.[92]
Following Radionomy's acquisition, no new releases would officially surface until Winamp 5.8 in 2018.
In September 2018, it was reported that a Winamp 5.8 beta build 3563 had been leaked to various file-sharing sites.[93] The leaked build, bearing a build date of October 26, 2016, would be the first public build under Radionomy's umbrella, with changes including compatibility with Windows 8.1, 10 and 11, and the removal of the paid Winamp Pro.
Following the leak, Radionomy officially released Winamp 5.8 build 3660 on October 18, 2018.[94][95]
Winamp 5.9 was released on September 9, 2022, with mostly under-the-hood improvements.[96][19] The development team migrated the project fromVisual Studio 2008 to Visual Studio 2019, in addition to improving support for Windows 11,high-resolution audio, and playback ofHTTPS streams. The minimum supported operating system was increased toWindows 7SP1.
On December 6, 2022, Winamp 5.9.1 was released, adding amusic NFT playback feature. Users are able to add music NFTs on Ethereum and Polygon to the media library by connecting to the Metamask wallet.
In April 2023, Winamp 5.9.2 was officially released, which, according to the developers themselves, is a minor update to the previous version.[97]
Modernized logo used by the Winamp website and service. The media player retains the classic logo.
On October 15, 2018, Radionomy's CEO Alexandre Saboundjian announced that a new version of Winamp – then called Winamp 6 – would be released in 2019.[98] The new version launched on April 13, 2023, as an online service.[99] The platform features Winamp Player, amusic streaming service with plans to integrate with other music platforms such as Spotify and to play local audio files. Another feature of the new platform is Winamp Fanzone, where artists can upload and license their music for commercial use, and listeners can support artists directly by buying perks, such as early access to new songs or NFTs.[100][18]
On May 16, 2024, Llama Group announced that Winamp would be going partiallyopen source on September 24, 2024.[101][102] The source code was released in aGitHub repository under the "Winamp Collaborative License", a license restricting the ability to createforks or distribute modifiedbinaries (which is not considered free or open source[103]) and requireswaiving ownership of contributions to Llama Group.
After the source code was released, multiple pieces ofproprietary source code were found: the entirety of theSHOUTcast server software, as well as code from Microsoft,Dolby andIntel.[21] AfterThe Register contacted the Llama Group about the code on October 15, 2024, the GitHub repository was deleted.[104]
Winamp for Android is a mobile version for theAndroid (version 2.1) operating system, released in beta in October 2010 with a stable release in December 2010.[105] It includes syncing with Winamp desktop (ver. 5.59 beta+) over USB or Wi-Fi.[106] It was received with some enthusiasm in the consumer blog press.[107][108][109] The app was removed from thePlay Store in 2014 due to a combination of factors, including a decline in user interest and the cessation of support from its parent company, AOL.
It was reported in 2018 by TechCrunch that a redesigned Android app was planned alongside the announcement of the development of Winamp 6.[98]
An app for the Winamp service was released in beta for Android in July 2023.[20][110]
In October 2011,Winamp Sync for Mac was introduced as a beta release. It is the first Winamp version for theMac OS X platform and runs under version 10.6 and above. Its focus is on syncing the Winamp Library to Winamp for Android and the iTunes Music Library (hence the name, "Winamp Sync for Mac"). Nonetheless, a full Winamp Library and player features are included. The developer's blog stated that theWinamp Sync for Mac Beta would pave the way for future Winamp-related development on Mac[111] and a fully featured media player as Winamp on Windows.[112] However no further development occurred.
An early alpha preview of Winamp3 for desktopLinux was developed in October 2001,[113] but support was dropped not long after. Nonetheless, some versions of Winamp for Windows are functional usingWine.
Winamp has historically included a number ofEaster eggs: hidden features that are accessible via undocumented operations. One example is an image ofJustin Frankel, one of Winamp's original authors, hidden in Winamp's About dialog box.[115] The included Easter eggs have changed with versions of Winamp, and over thirty have been documented elsewhere.[116]
Unagi is the codename for the media playback engine derived from Winamp core technologies. AOL announced in 2004 that Unagi would be incorporated intoAOL Media Player (AMP), in development.[117] Afterbeta testing,AMP was discontinued in 2005, but portions lived on in AOL's Web-based player.[118]
XMMS, xmms2,qmmp andAudacious are free and open source music players created as clones of Winamp. Some of these even support skins and plug-ins designed for Winamp.[119]
AnHTML5 andJavaScript-based web player resembling the graphical user interface of Winamp 2 was developed by programmer Jordan Eldredge in 2018.[120]
^abcdefghVan Buskirk, Eliot (October 11, 2007).[1].Wired. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
^Hans-Christian Dirscherl (February 14, 2007)."Improved Unicode support with Winamp 5.33".PCWelt.de (in German). Archived fromthe original on August 7, 2011. RetrievedJune 28, 2010.Winamp 5.33 especially improves Unicode support.
^April 21, 1997, release date extracted from Winamp.exe 0.20a binary. This version still plays some constant-bit-rate MP3 files on Windows XP SP3, but can crash when paused and unpaused. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
^List, Jenny (September 24, 2024)."Winamp Releases Source Code, But Is It Really Open?".Hackaday. RetrievedSeptember 25, 2024.paragraph five of the Winamp Collaborative License […] prohibits distribution of modified versions or forks, and stipulates that only the official maintainers can distribute it. This doesn't sound like open source to us
