Winamp is still alive in 2024: this is how it adapted to the era of Spotify and YouTube

It all started with Winamp. This music player This was the first of many. And it marked a before and an after in the way music was consumed. At the dawn of digitalization, MP3 made it possible save your song collection on your computer. And play them with Winamp. But that was a long time ago. Today, music consumed via streaming on your smartphone thanks to Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. But Winamp is still alive. Thanks in part to WACUP. A project born out of love for an application that deserves a special place in history.

Earlier we talked about the history of Winamp, the player that popularized MP3. Then came Napster, which made it possible to share songs over the Internet. And Apple with its iPod and iTunes Store. Today converted to Apple Music. And finally Spotify. So today, music is consumed through streaming. Although there are still those who prefer keep your songs safe on your devices. And don’t depend on a directory that might disappear, change, or be censored.

WACAP is an abbreviation for Winamp Community Update Project. A project that has been around for several years and predates the demise of Winamp. Today Winamp is still alive. Although this is not the Winamp we all knew. This is the version for iPhone and Android. Although it also allows you to download the Windows version. But it’s not too similar to the original Winamp. So a group of volunteers dedicated themselves to maintaining Winamp and making several improvements. keep up with the times this run

WACUP, the living legacy of Winamp

Winamp is a music player created by Nullsoft in 1997. Its creators Justin Frankel And Dmitry Boldyrev. Here’s the story in more detail. In 1999 they sold Nullsoft To AOLAmerican Internet giant. And this, in turn, was sold Nullsoft To Radionomy in 2014. Currently, this company has been renamed Lama Group. And last year they relaunched the player with their iconic name, although they adapted it mainly for mobile devices. Additionally, this spring they announced that they were going to share the Winamp source code. However, many abandoned Winamp for other players such as VLC or AIMP.

Moreover, Winamp’s legacy has weakened. The original application created by Frankel and Boldyrev reached version 5.666. There was version 5.7, but it was not finalized. After purchasing Radionomy, Winamp continued to be updated with versions 5.8 and 5.9. But those responsible for WACUP decided stay with the original Winamp from Nullsoft and improve it. The project started in 2019 and is still in effect.

So, if you go to the official WACUP page, you can download WACUP, which essentially installs Winamp 5.666 on your Windows PC, as well as some add-ons, which we will detail later. At the time of writing these lines latest version of WACUP published September 12, 2024. There is a version Preview and one more Beta. The first one is for x86 processors. And the second one includes x64 support. Both can be installed on Windows 10 and Windows 11. They are free and, although still in development, are fully functional.

Winamp in the YouTube era

Those in charge clearly know what WACUP is. This project in development. So if the app doesn’t work well at all, it’s because they haven’t published the final version yet. But that doesn’t stop WACUP from offering everything Winamp was. Enable improvements for the current era. Installer WACUP installs Winamp 5.666 as well as a number of improvements and settings. As for skins, bring them classic and modern. The latter has a version adapted for Windows 10. They all also work on Windows 11. Not enough more.

At first glance, we see Winamp as it was in its heyday. Music player that allows you to create and play song listswith full equalizer and consequences display. But it brings surprises. As a section dedicated to podcasts. Something that didn’t exist when Winamp was born. He also doesn’t forget internet stations. Listen to free and legal music.

It also includes a web section. While Winamp is designed to play files on your computer, WACUP can also play via links on YouTube. And while it doesn’t have a music search engine for YouTube or Spotify, it does allow you to search for the song you’re playing across a variety of services. For example, you can video search V YouTube, Soundcloud, Vimeo, Google…Or the lyrics of the song that plays on Musixmatch, Genius or Lyrics. And it also includes integration with Last.fm or Discord.

Perhaps there are details worth sketching out. Or that some features don’t work smoothly. but this Supervitamin Winamp This is something many of us have missed after years of abandoning the original Winamp. Thanks to WACUP, this player continues to develop. It remains to be seen how far he can go. If you want, you can collaborate with them. Either through practice or through financial contributions. Follow this link for more information.