It all started with Winamp. This music player It was the first of many. And it marked a before and after in the way of consuming music. At the beginning 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 is consumed by streaming on your smartphone thanks to Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. But Winamp is still alive. In part, thanks to WACUP. A project that arises from the love of an app that deserves a special place in history.
In the past we have talked about the history of Winamp, the player that popularized MP3. Then Napster would come to make it possible to share songs over the Internet. And Apple with its iPod and the 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 not depend on a catalog that can disappear, change or censor.
WACUP is the acronym for Winamp Community Update Project. A project that has been in operation for several years and that arose before the decline of Winamp. Today, Winamp is still alive. Although it is not the Winamp that we all knew. This is a version for iPhone and Android. Although it also allows you to download a version for Windows. But it’s not too similar to the original Winamp. Hence, a group of volunteers has dedicated themselves to maintaining Winamp and incorporating several improvements. in keeping with the times that run
WACUP, the living legacy of Winamp
Winamp was 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 AOLthe American internet giant. And, this, in turn, sold Nullsoft to Radionomy in 2014. Currently, this company was renamed to Llama Group. And last year it relaunched the player with its emblematic name, although adapting it mainly to mobile devices. Additionally, this spring they announced that they were going to share Winamp source code. However, many abandoned Winamp for other players like VLC or AIMP.
Furthermore, Winamp’s legacy has been diluted. The original app created by Frankel and Boldyrev reached the version 5.666. There was a version 5.7, but it was not finalized. With the purchase by 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 active.
So if you go to the official WACUP website, you can download WACUP, which basically installs Winamp 5.666 on your Windows PC plus some additions that we will detail later. At the time of writing these lines, the latest version of WACUP was published on September 12, 2024. There is a version Preview and another Beta. The first, for x86 processors. And the second incorporates support for x64. Both can be installed on Windows 10 and Windows 11. They are free and, although they are in the development phase, they are fully functional.
Winamp in the YouTube era
Those responsible are clear about WACUP. It’s a project in development. So if the app is not working at all, it is because they have not yet published a final version. But that doesn’t stop WACUP from offering everything that Winamp was. Incorporating improvements for the current era. The installer WACUP installs Winamp 5.666 and a series of improvements and customizations. As for skins, bring the classic and the modern. The latter has a version adapted for Windows 10. All of them also work on Windows 11. More is missing.
A first look shows us Winamp as it was in its heyday. A music player that allows you to create and play song listswith a complete equalizer and effects of display. But it brings surprises. As a section dedicated to podcasts. Something that did not exist when Winamp was born. Nor does he forget the internet stations. To listen to free and legal music.
It also integrates a web section. Although Winamp is designed to play files on your computer, WACUP can also play youtube links. And although it doesn’t have a music search engine for YouTube or Spotify, it does allow you to search for the song you’re playing on various services. For example, you can search videos in YouTube, Soundcloud, Vimeo, Google…Or the lyrics of the song that plays on Musixmatch, Genius either Songlyrics. And it also incorporates integrations with Last.fm either Discord.
There may be details to outline. Or that some functions do not run smoothly. but this Supervitamined Winamp It is what many of us missed after years of abandoning the original Winamp. Thanks to WACUP, this player continues to evolve. It remains to be seen how far he can go. If you want, you can collaborate with them. Either in practice or through financial contributions. In this link you will find more information.
