If Winamp was your go-to music player years ago, here’s some news that might make you smile. Winamp has announced a partnership with Deezer that brings music streaming to its next-generation player. The new music player will arrive sometime in the first half of 2027.
What is changing with the new Winamp music player?
In this partnership, Deezer will provide its white-label streaming technology and massive global music catalog. That gives Winamp everything it needs to launch its own branded premium subscription.
The best part is that Winamp isn’t abandoning what made it special. Your local music library, internet radio stations, podcasts, and personal cloud collections all stay right where they belong, sitting alongside the new streaming catalog in one unified player.
This time, Winamp is bringing a highly customizable interface and fresh social features inside one music app that does everything instead of forcing you to juggle different apps for different features. Winamp CEO Alexandre Saboundjian says the goal is to bring everything users want to listen to in one place, all under that same Winamp identity they grew up with.
Will Winamp’s comeback actually work this time?
That’s a fair question, and a bit of history helps here. Winamp tried an artist-focused redesign back in 2023 that didn’t land. Later, its source code was released publicly in 2024, only for licensing controversy to derail that plan too.
This isn’t even the first time Saboundjian has promised something like this. Back in 2019, he made a nearly identical pitch, promising to unify music, podcasts, and streaming radio under one roof after its 2014 acquisition.
However, Winamp hopes things will be different this time, backed by real streaming infrastructure instead of a fresh coat of paint. With over 40 million people still actively using the free desktop player today, Winamp clearly still has a loyal fanbase ready and waiting.
Whether that nostalgia turns into paying subscribers remains the real test, but for longtime fans, this finally feels like a comeback worth getting excited about.