Winamp was supposed to shut down late last week but surprisingly enough, the company’s website is still alive and the desktop application remains available. Did someone simply forget to take the site / app down or is something else going on behind the scenes?
According to Eddy Richman from the Winamp team, the latter scenario seems most likely.
When probed by the guys from Neowin via Twitter, Richman said he couldn’t comment on the matter right now but something was obviously happening behind the scenes. He said he would tweet any news updates via the @winamp account when / if something develops, however.
The deal that Richman was speaking of could be what TechCrunch spoke of days before the planned closure. In that report, the publication claimed AOL was finalizing negotiations to sell Winamp and Shoutcast. A similar report from the previous month said Microsoft was the suitor although the most recent update didn’t name a buyer.
The deal is far enough along that the source was confident that an agreement would be reached. Naturally, a spokesperson for AOL declined to comment on the matter.
Winamp hit the scene in the late 1990s and quickly became one of the most popular applications for listening to music on the desktop. Popularity waned over the years, however, as streaming services like Rhapsody, Pandora and Spotify are now all the rage. But for a select few, the app still holds a nostalgic appeal and continues to be the go-to player for local music playback.
