Over 16 years ago on April 21, 1997, NullSoft – nowadays most famous for its ShoutCast software without which tens of thousands of online radio stations could not exist – launched a music player software for Windows that grew to be one of the longest-lasting and possibly the best stand-alone music players around. This year marks the end of an era, as NullSoft announced earlier this week the discontinuation of Winamp and closure of its website and download pages on December 20, 2013.

A simple but powerful music player with lots of supported music formats, a good level of customisability and many features to manage the balance and add effects to your sound, Winamp was once a popular tool for regular music listeners; and maintained a cult following all through its life. In later years, the software was also popularly recommended by many internet radio stations – including us here at Sanitarium.FM – as the best way to listen in due to its strong Shoutcast stream support; and support for the MP3Pro plugin, which allowed MP3s to be streamed at lower bandwidths without losing quality allowing slower connections or large groups of listeners to still enjoy high quality music.

Those who already have their own copy of Winamp – whatever version it might be – or who download the latest release before the site’s official closure on December 20 will be able to continue to use Winamp as long as they wish, as the software is completely standalone; however, it will no longer be available for download directly or supported by the company after this date. It’s also uncertain if other sites will be able to continue offering the software themselves after the closure, as Winamp is copyrighted despite being a free download. Nullsoft have refused to comment on or state the reasons for the closure, but with the rise of internet streaming services and the number of tools now built-in to computers and smartphones for listening to music, it’s possible Winamp was simply seen as an archaic tool now or no longer attracted a strong enough audience.

Long term fans of the Winamp player are already encouraging Nullsoft to reconsider the decision – asking them to either keeping the software and websites alive; or open-source the software so independent developers can continue the work on their behalf, for the benefit of both its users and the broadcasters who have long supported its use, however there has yet to be any sign of movement from the company. However, while it will be sad to lose such a trusted, long-term veteran to the music player scene, there are still many other players available to bridge the gap. Winamp diehards might be interested in checking out jetAudio, a competing Media player with similarly long heritage. jetAudio supports a large number of Winamp’s plugins, even having MP3Pro support built-in; and offers a similar interface – with separated playlists and equaliser windows from the main one, and a “Toolbar” mode that resembles the “Windowshade Mode” of Winamp – which Winamp fans may just find comforting.