Editing Winamp (section)

== History ==

=== Initial releases ===
[[File:Winamp 0.2a.jpg|thumb|WinAMP 0.2a, 21 April 1997<ref name="rtd/winAMP">{{cite web |title=Winamp: How a Quirky MP3 Player Became an Audio Icon |url=https://www.retrotechdreams.com/winamp-how-a-quirky-mp3-player-became-an-audio-icon/ |website=Retro Tech Dreams |access-date=1 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211094846/https://www.retrotechdreams.com/winamp-how-a-quirky-mp3-player-became-an-audio-icon/ |archive-date=11 December 2023 |date=November 5, 2023}}</ref>]]
[[File:WinAMP 0.92.jpg|thumb|WinAMP 0.92, May 1997<ref name="rtd/winAMP"/>]]

Winamp was first released in 1997, when [[Justin Frankel]] and Dmitry Boldyrev,<ref name="Saltzman"/><ref name="Millard"/><ref name="Mengyi"/> formerly students at the [[University of Utah]], integrated their [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] user interface with the Advanced Multimedia Products ("AMP") MP3 file playback engine.<ref name="AutoMZ-14"/> The name Winamp (originally spelled WinAMP) was a [[portmanteau]] of "Windows" and "AMP".<ref name="portmanteau" /> The minimalist WinAMP 0.20a was released as freeware on April 21, 1997.<ref name="winamp0.2"/><ref name="Haring"/>

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-founder [[Tomislav Uzelac]], which was free for non-commercial use.<ref name="AutoMZ-15"/> It was compatible with [[Windows 95]] and [[Windows NT 4.0]]. Winamp was the second [[real-time computing|real-time]] MP3 player for Windows, the first being [[WinPlay3]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.silicon.co.uk/mobility/mobile-apps/tales-tech-history-winamp-220495 |title=Tales in Tech History: Winamp |date=August 25, 2017}}</ref>

WinAMP 0.92 was released as a 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 green [[Seven-segment display|LED font]], with track name, MP3 bitrate, and "mixrate" in green. Overlength titles appear as slowly scrolling text (or "marquee"). The [[skeuomorph]]ic design somewhat resembles [[shelf stereo]]s. There was no position bar, and a blank space where the [[spectrum analyzer]] and [[waveform analyzer]] would later appear. Multiple files on the command line or dropped onto its icon were enqueued in the playlist.

=== Winamp 1 ===
[[File:Winamp1.006.PNG|thumb|Winamp 1]]

Version 1.006 was released June 7, 1997,<ref name="Wired98"/><ref name="AutoMZ-16"/> renamed "Winamp", i.e., 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 its [[Online help|help menu]].

According to Tomislav Uzelac, Frankel licensed the AMP 0.7 engine June 1, 1997.<ref name="play1"/> Frankel formally founded [[Nullsoft]] Inc. in January 1998 and continued development of Winamp, which changed from freeware to $10 [[shareware]].<ref name=Wired98/> 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.<ref name="arstechnica.com" />

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://funkidswonderfulhistory.weebly.com/technology-inventions.html |title=Technology/ Inventions |website=British History for KidsKS2 |access-date=February 3, 2018 |archive-date=February 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201192929/http://funkidswonderfulhistory.weebly.com/technology-inventions.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nullsoft responded that they had replaced AMP with Nitrane,<ref name="rtd/winAMP"/> Nullsoft's proprietary decoder, but Playmedia disputed this.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mp3decoders.mp3-tech.org/decoders_winamp2_62.html |title=Winamp v2.62 mp3 decoding quality test results |website=mp3decoders.mp3-tech.org |access-date=September 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110191532/http://mp3decoders.mp3-tech.org/decoders_winamp2_62.html |archive-date=November 10, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Version 1.90,<ref name="rtd/winAMP"/> 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'' and ''MP3'') and a visualization plugin.<ref name="WAv1.90"/>

The installer for Version 1.91, released 18 days later, included ''wave'', ''cdda'', and ''Windows tray handling'' plugins, as well as the famous [[Wesley Willis]]-inspired DEMO.MP3 file ''"Winamp, it really whips the llama's ass"''.<ref name="AutoMZ-17"/><ref name="RS"/> ''Mike the Llama'' is the company mascot.<ref name="rtd/winAMP"/>

By July 1998, Winamp's various versions had been downloaded over three million times.<ref name=Wired98/>

=== Winamp 2 ===
[[File:Winamp2.PNG|thumb|Winamp 2, shown with default Base Skin]]

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 most [[download]]ed pieces of software for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]].<ref name="AutoMZ-18"/> By the end of 1998, there were already over 60 plugins and hundreds of skins made for the software.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.winamp.com/winamp/overview.html |title=Winamp &#124; Overview &#124; |website=www.winamp.com |access-date=January 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981203055250/http://www.winamp.com/winamp/overview.html |archive-date=December 3, 1998 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

PlayMedia filed a federal lawsuit against Nullsoft in March 1999. In May 1999, PlayMedia was granted an [[injunction]] by Federal Judge [[A. Howard Matz]] against distribution of Nitrane by Nullsoft, and the same month the lawsuit was settled out-of-court with licensing and confidentiality agreements.<ref name=Haring/> Soon after, Nullsoft switched to an [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] decoder from the [[Fraunhofer-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 musical [[Sting (musical phrase)|sting]] and [[bleating]].

Nullsoft was purchased by [[AOL]] in June 1999 for $80&nbsp;million in stock,<ref name="rtd/winAMP"/> with Nullsoft becoming a subsidiary.<ref name="AOL1"/><ref name="AutoMZ-19"/> AOL itself merged with [[Time 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.<ref name=AOL1/>

=== Winamp3 ===
The next major Winamp version, Winamp3 (so spelled to include ''mp3'' 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 (software)|Wasabi]] application framework, which offered additional functionality and flexibility. 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 of [[Song|tracks]] in a [[playlist]])".<ref name="AutoMZ-20"/><ref name="AutoMZ-21"/> Winamp3 had no [[backward compatibility]] with Winamp 2 plugins, and the [[SHOUTcast]] 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,<ref name="AutoMZ-22"/> even alluding to it humorously.<ref name="AutoMZ-23"/> The [[beta version]]s 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-platform [[Application software|application]] framework and [[Skin (computing)|skinnable]] [[GUI]] toolkit was derived from parts of the Winamp3 source code. For [[Linux]], Nullsoft released an [[alpha version]] of Winamp3 on October 9, 2001, but has not updated it despite continued user interest.<ref name="AutoMZ-24"/>

During this time Winamp faced stiff competition from [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[iTunes]].<ref name="arstechnica.com"/>

=== Winamp 5 ===
[[File:Winamp5.png|thumb|Winamp 5 featuring Winamp Modern skin]]

Winamp 5 was based on the Winamp 2 codebase, but with Winamp3 features such as modern skins incorporated via a plugin,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=167493#post1261545 |title="Why no Winamp2 Download" (post #4) |last=Richman |first=Eddy "DJ Egg" |date=January 31, 2004}} (forum post by developer)</ref> 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 on [[foreskin]]).<ref name="AutoMZ-25"/> It was also joked that "Winamp 5 is so good they skipped a number" and "Winamp 2+3=5,".<ref name="AutoMZ-26"/> 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.<ref name="AutoMZ-30"/><!-- Primary source, harmless for this purpose. -->

From version 5.2 onwards, support for synchronizing with an [[iPod]] and other portable music players is built-in.<ref name="AutoMZ-27"/> This was developed by Will Fisher, as a re-write of the open source [https://sourceforge.net/projects/mlipod/ ml_ipod plug-in].

==== Winamp 5.5 ====
Winamp 5.5: The 10th Anniversary Edition was released on October 10, 2007,<ref name="AutoMZ-28"/> ten years after the first release of Winamp (a [[beta version|preview 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.last100.com/2007/09/17/winamp-goes-where-itunes-doesnt-dare/ |title=Winamp goes where iTunes doesn't dare « last100}}</ref> This version dropped support for [[Windows 9x]].<ref name="VanBuskirk"/><ref name="AutoMZ-29"/>

==== Winamp 5.6 ====
[[File:Winamp 5.621.PNG|thumb|Winamp 5.621, when listening to the [[SHOUTcast]] stream]]

Winamp 5.6 was released in November 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=https://winfuture.de/news,59877.html |title=Winamp 5.6: Android-Gerät via WLAN verwalten |date=November 30, 2010}}</ref> and features [[Android (operating system)|Android]] 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]], and [[FLAC]]) 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.<ref name=ars-shutdown />

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.<ref name="winamp5666post" />

==== Winamp 5.7 ====
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.<ref name="winampcloud" /> This feature would have allowed AOL to provide a music locker service that would essentially compete with other [[Comparison of online music lockers|online music lockers]]. The beta program was cancelled months before the announcement to shut down the Winamp project.<ref name="winampcloudabort" />

=== Acquisition by Radionomy ===
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.<ref name=ars-shutdown /> The following day, an unofficial report surfaced that [[Microsoft]] was in talks with AOL to acquire Nullsoft.<ref name=verge-winampms>{{cite web |title=AOL reportedly wants to sell Winamp to Microsoft |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/11/21/5130536/microsoft-aol-reportedly-working-on-winamp-sale |work=The Verge |access-date=November 21, 2013 |date=November 21, 2013}}</ref><ref name=bw-winampms>{{cite web |title=Microsoft in Talks To Buy SHOUTcast And Winamp From AOL |url=http://www.broadcastingworld.com/news/view-476/ |work=Broadcasting World |access-date=November 28, 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/01/01/aol-sells-winamp-and-shoutcast-music-services-to-online-radio-aggregator-radionomy |title=AOL Sells Winamp And Shoutcast Music Services To Online Radio Aggregator Radionomy |last=Lunden |first=Ingrid |work=[[TechCrunch]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |date=January 1, 2014}}</ref><ref name=verge-winampacquired>{{cite web |title=Winamp lives on after acquisition by Radionomy |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/14/5263086/winamp-radionomy-acquisition-internet-radio-service |work=The Verge |access-date=January 14, 2014 |date=January 14, 2014}}</ref> However, [[TechCrunch]] has reported that the sale of Winamp and Shoutcast is worth between $5 and $10 [[million]], with AOL taking a 12% stake (a financial, not strategic, investment) in Radionomy in the process.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lunden |first=Ingrid |title=AOL Sells Winamp And Shoutcast For $5-10M To Radionomy, Takes 12% Stake in Belgian Digital Audio Startup |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/01/14/aol-sells-winamp-and-shoutcast-for-5-10m-to-radionomy-takes-12-stake-in-belgian-digital-audio-company/ |work=techcrunch.com |date=January 14, 2014 |publisher=TechCrunch |access-date=January 14, 2014}}</ref>

Radionomy relaunched the Winamp website, and it was available for download again. In December 2015, [[Vivendi]] bought a majority stake in Radionomy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/winamp-has-a-new-owner-relaunch-possible-once-again-497871.shtml |title=Winamp Has a New Owner, Relaunch Possible Once Again |first=Bogdan |last=Popa |date=December 20, 2015 |access-date=January 2, 2018 |archive-date=January 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103072708/http://news.softpedia.com/news/winamp-has-a-new-owner-relaunch-possible-once-again-497871.shtml |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Following Radionomy's acquisition, no new releases would officially surface until Winamp 5.8 in 2018.

==== Winamp 5.8 ====
In September 2018, it was reported that a Winamp 5.8 beta build 3563 was leaked to various file-sharing sites.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/llamas-not-dead-winamp-58-beta-leaks-online |title=Llama's not dead, Winamp 5.8 Beta leaks online |first=Razvan |last=Serea |date=September 16, 2018 |access-date=September 18, 2018 |publisher=NeoWin}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/15/17980238/winamp-coming-back-all-in-one-music-player-playlists-podcasts-streaming-radio |title=Winamp is coming back as an all-in-one music player |first=Dani |last=Deahl |date=October 15, 2018 |access-date=October 19, 2018 |website=The Verge}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=453675 |title=Winamp 5.8 Beta, Build 3660 (official) |date=October 19, 2018 |access-date=October 19, 2018 |publisher=Winamp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019121937/http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=453675 |archive-date=October 19, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Winamp 5.9 ====
Winamp 5.9 was released on September 9, 2022, with mostly under-the-hood improvements.<ref>{{cite web |title=Winamp 5.9 Released - Winamp & Shoutcast Forums |url=http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=458120 |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=forums.winamp.com |date=July 26, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The development team migrated the project from [[Visual Studio]] 2008 to Visual Studio 2019, in addition to improving support for Windows 11, [[high-resolution audio]], and playback of [[HTTPS]] streams. The minimum supported operating system was increased to [[Windows 7]] [[Service Pack|SP1]].

On December 6, 2022, Winamp 5.9.1 was released, adding a music 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://forums.winamp.com/forum/winamp/winamp-discussion/4615655-winamp-5-9-2-released |title=Winamp 5.9.2 Released |date=2023-04-26 |website=Winamp.com}}</ref>

=== Winamp service ===
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.<ref name="winamp-new-relase">{{cite web |date=October 15, 2018 |title=Winamp returns in 2019 to whip the llama's ass harder than ever |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/15/winamp-returns-in-2019-to-whip-the-llamas-ass-harder-than-ever/ |access-date=October 15, 2018 |work=TechCrunch}}</ref> The new version launched on April 13, 2023 as an online service.<ref>{{cite web |title=Llama Group: Winamp Launches New Player With Services Aimed at Empowering Music Creators to Become Their Own Merchants |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/llama-group-winamp-launches-player-130000050.html |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Yahoo Finance |date=April 13, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> The platform features Winamp Player, a [[music 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Winamp celebrates its 25th anniversary with a music NFT feature in the latest update |url=https://answercoins.com/1493/winamp-celebrates-its-25th-anniversary-with-a-music-nft-feature-in-the-latest-update/ |website=Answercoins |access-date=December 11, 2022 |archive-date=December 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211204619/https://answercoins.com/1493/winamp-celebrates-its-25th-anniversary-with-a-music-nft-feature-in-the-latest-update/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0" />