⚫ Change the record: If you have a Spotify account, don’t sleep on your custom “Discover Weekly” playlist. It’s refreshed every Monday with 30 new tracks you’ll like based on your past listens. Find it in the Made For You section of your library.
WinAmp revamp takes on Patreon
WinAmp is making waves for the first time in a long time, mainly because we all forgot it was still in the water. The iconic media player has been used by a dedicated few million fans all this time, but now it’s making a big comeback in a new way. It’s going after Patreon.
What’s in a name?
WinAmp is a generation-defining application that will be all too familiar to one specific age group of internet users and utterly alien to everyone else. It’s a music player that faced off against Windows Media Player and iTunes in its heyday but has a much smaller fanbase today.
Although it’s been sold and resold several times over the years, WinAmp’s development has continued, and it’s still a very serviceable music player application in 2023.
But it’s the new web presence that’s such a surprise.
Still branded as Winamp (but with a lowercase “a”), the new site has some revamped MySpace vibes. It’s now pushing curated music discovery alongside digital radio and podcasts. The idea is that you’ll have all of your music from different services and platforms connected in one central location.
But as well as offering a potential alternative to the likes of Spotify, the new Winamp seems to be trying to copy Patreon, focusing on musicians.
Pay for the privilege
Available under a new “Fanzone” section of the site, users can pay to interact with musicians and music makers who sign up. You could gain early access to songs or exclusive digital content, like NFTs (no sign of monkeys yet). Winamp also offers to manage the copyright, licensing, and distribution of songs for artists.
Streaming isn’t a viable career path for most musicians, but going all in on Winamp seems like a big ask. The new Winamp is part of a corporate entity that runs royalty-free music licensor Jamendo and the copyright management company Bridger.
Maybe it does know what it’s doing after all?
Alexa just gained a handy new music trick, but say goodbye to another longtime feature
Smart assistants like Amazon’s Alexa are great at telling you what your day will be like. It is also helpful as a music player, allowing you to listen to anything your ears desire. If you have an Echo with a display, music videos will accompany the tunes. Tap or click here to solve one of Alexa’s most annoying problems.
9 brilliant things to do with that old cellphone you have lying around
Do you remember the days of mobile carriers upgrading your phone for free, or at least at a greatly reduced price? It typically happened every two years when you signed a new contract.
Unfortunately, those days are over and it couldn’t be worse timing. That’s because the latest and greatest smartphones can easily cost you over $1,000. Shelling out that kind of dough seems outrageous, especially if you only keep the gadget a short while before upgrading yet again. Which, believe me, happens a lot.
4 ways to listen to music on your Android
Cassette tapes (remember those?!), CDs and even iPods all feel like distant memories of how we used to listen to music. Today, it’s all about the music you can carry or stream on your Android phone or tablet. All you need is your gadget, a set of earphones or a Bluetooth speaker, and these four apps to enjoy your favorite tunes.