Llamas everywhere had better watch their step, because Winamp is back from the dead.

It was a sad day in November when the word went out that Winamp, the greatest media player the world has ever known, was disappearing forever. But today the news is good, for today, Winamp rises again, even better than it was before. Better - stronger - faster!

The last-minute stay has come about thanks to a deal between AOL and Radionomy, which has acquired Winamp and Shoutcast for a "cash and share deal" worth between $5 and $10 million. The sale will give AOL a 12 percent stake in Radionomy, an online media platform that currently offers more than 6000 amateur and professional internet radio stations. The addition of Shoutcast to its lineup will push that number to around 60,000, representing roughly half the internet radio stations currently in operation.

Despite being effectively abandoned by AOL, Winamp is still downloaded three million times per month, and Radionomy CEO Alexandre Saboundjian told TechCrunch that the plan is to maintain both Winamp and Shoutcast as going concerns. "We want to rebuild the story for Winamp," he said. "We think the future can be great because the strategy is not just desktop but mobile and cars and so much more."

The Winamp website still carries a message warning of its December demise and the paid version of the software isn't available at the moment, but those are just fading reminders of dark days now passing. The King is dead - Long live the King!

Source: TechCrunch