Winamp reinvents itself: The iconic media player gets a new look and can be used as a kind of Patreon for musicians in the future. “Fanzone” is the name of this new area in which artists can be subscribed to directly. The artists themselves determine how much users pay and what they get for it. The concept is reminiscent of crowdfunding platforms like Patreon and OnlyFans.
In the “Fanzone” artists can create their profile and set subscription levels and prices. The Llama Group behind Winamp itself writes that, for example, you can get exclusive backstage insights. What individual artists do with their fan zone platform is up to them. 85 percent of the fixed subscription fees go to the musicians themselves, 15 percent stay with Winamp. For comparison: The OnlyFans platform takes 20 percent, Patreon between 5 and 12 percent depending on the level plus payment fees.
A few indie musicians
A short sample in new web player from Winamp shows: So far, mainly indie musicians are represented on the platform, the selection is still very small. Some charge €1 per month for access to the catalogue, while others charge €5 per month for early access to new content. In addition to music, podcasts can also be listened to on the new WinAmp platform. Artists have been able to register for Fanzone since mid-March.
The new Winamp player is so far only available as a web version, which should also work on mobile browsers. Dedicated apps for Android and iOS are scheduled to follow in the third quarter of 2023. Currently, the new player can only be used for Musk, which is provided via Fanzone. He’s very limited with that.
At a later date, the new WinAmp player should also be able to play locally stored music and integrate the music catalogs of other services. The Winamp developers want to turn their player into a universal music aggregator – but the media player hasn’t gotten that far yet.
250 million users targeted
With its new strategy, Winamp wants to grow to 250 million users, according to a company press release. Winamp currently has 83 million users. They also hope to win a million Creatos for Fanzone. So the company has set itself high goals.
The heyday of Winamp is long gone: The program, released in 1997, was long considered the number 1 among media players, but missed the transition to the streaming market. In recent years there have been sporadic updates for the desktop media player. This local music player can on the Winamp website can still be downloaded as an alternative to the completely revised browser appearance.
(dahe)
