Deezer partners with Winamp to power a new streaming experience
Deezer is partnering with Winamp to launch a new premium music service in 2027, bringing streaming, local libraries and more into one player.
Who remembers Winamp? Well, Winamp is making a comeback, and this time, it’s bringing Deezer along for the ride. The legacy music player has announced a strategic partnership with Deezer that will power a new premium streaming service inside the next-generation Winamp Player, due to launch in the first half of 2027.
For artists and labels, the interesting question is what this new listening experience could mean for music discovery and distribution.
Deezer will power Winamp’s new streaming service
Under the partnership, Deezer will provide its white-label streaming technology and global music catalogue. Winamp will use that infrastructure to launch a subscription service under its own brand, built directly into its redesigned music player.
The new player is intended to bring several types of audio together rather than focusing solely on streaming. Users will be able to combine streamed music with their local libraries, internet radio, podcasts, personal cloud collections and other audio sources.
Winamp also promises a highly customisable interface, new social features and different ways for listeners to discover and organise their music.
As Winamp CEO Alexandre Saboundjian puts it, the company wants to “bring together everything users want to listen to in one place.”
That could make the service particularly interesting for listeners who have never fully abandoned their own music collections, even as streaming has become the dominant way of accessing music.
A new route into Winamp’s audience
The partnership could also give Deezer’s catalogue another route to listeners.
Winamp says its desktop player is still actively used by more than 40 million people worldwide. Once the new platform launches, the Winamp desktop player will include its premium music subscription powered by Deezer.
For artists, the exact impact will depend on how the service handles its catalogue and royalties. Those details have not yet been announced.
What does the Winamp and Deezer deal mean for artists?
For independent artists and labels, keeping your catalogue properly distributed and your release information up to date puts you in the best position to reach listeners across licensed music services.
The new Winamp Player is still some way from launch, so there is no need to change your distribution strategy now. More details on the service, including how its catalogue and royalties will work, should arrive before launch.
For now, artists can focus on getting their music onto the major streaming services and maintaining an accurate, up-to-date catalogue.
When is the new Winamp Player launching?
The next-generation Winamp Player is expected in the first half of 2027, with more product details and previews coming in the months before launch.
The new player will combine Deezer-powered streaming with local music libraries, internet radio, podcasts and other audio sources, giving Winamp a very different proposition from its original incarnation.