PARIS, FRANCE: Targetspot SA announced the launch of the beta version of the new Winamp, a music platform offering users unprecedented proximity to artists and a new compensation model. The global release of the final version is scheduled for 28 February.

An iconic brand with 80 million users worldwide

Pioneer among the players used to listen to content, Winamp, launched more than a quarter of a century ago in 1997, marked the beginning of digital audio with its innovative technology, user-friendliness and attitude. Long unrivalled, Winamp still boasts a committed community of 80 million active users worldwide, including more than a quarter in Asia.

This historic asset has been redesigned with the help of significant investment over the last two years. The new platform is now ready for launch for its global commercial deployment.

A new platform at the heart of the music industry’s transformation

The new Winamp has been designed to meet demands that today’s offering is struggling to satisfy:

• On the artists’ side, the streaming revolution has proven that the only distribution on subscription platforms does not allow to find a sufficient income for more than 99% of the artists. The big beneficiaries are mainly international stars who represent only a small part of the artists broadcasted on these platforms.
• For users, expectations have changed significantly with increasing demands for proximity to artists, access to personalised content and interaction with affinity communities.

Room for fair monetisation of music streaming

The current period therefore offers a unique opportunity to serve both a community of fans ready to play a more active role and a population of artists seeking visibility and fair compensation.

For the user, the new Winamp was built on a 100% free model that aggregates in one place his music, podcasts, radios, audio books, etc. The fanzone allows users to subscribe to exclusive content from their favourite artists and directly support them financially in the process.

For the artist, the platform offers a tool that allows him to manage all his sources of income in a simple way. In addition to the possibility to create personal subscriptions, Winamp will allow artists to distribute their tracks on streaming platforms and get back the revenue from the broadcasting, the creation of musical NFT, the management of their copyrights and composers through Bridger, the management of the revenue of the tracks linked to licensing activities.

An ecosystem of partners for rapid growth

Facilitated by the brand’s established reputation with the general public and specialist media, the deployment of the platform will primarily rely on the community of 80 million Winamp users worldwide. Its growth will also involve partnerships with specialised labels and websites, as well as targeted and affinity events. Finally, the platform’s strong commitment to access to music by as many people as possible will be embodied in the Winamp Foundation.

The aim is to attract strong and rapid support for this ecosystem which has no competition from existing platforms. Objective: bring together 1 million artists.