[jreposa]

I get it's a piece of history, but how do you monetize this? Convert it to paid software? Streaming service subscription?

[benologist]

Winamp has a 10,000,000 - 50,000,000 installs android app, that opens up a lot of possibilities.

[cabbeer]

What kind of add revenue can you get from that user base?

[benologist]

No idea but I don't think display ads would be that great since it's mostly passive software. I would think there are better ways to monetize it - premium enhancements, amazon/itunes referrals, cloud backup/streaming your library, even just selling it for a buck ... 'best' trumps 'free' a lot of the time on mobile.

[mistermann]

I swear I was reading a different HN thread on this topic yesterday or even today, and the very idea of paying for a music service was considered extremely offensive.

[rjbwork]

I pay for rdio and SubSonic. Granted my subsonic license is grandfathered in from before the developer changed to a subscription model, but the point remains.

[ewams]

From linked articles it has ~6mm in revenue already. Clean that up, optimize and then spread out.

[jdotjdot]

It already was paid software! (Even if you didn't actually pay for it)

[cabbeer]

How did that work out?

[ewams]

AOL is a publicly traded company. They have "responsibilities" to their shareholders to grow. How a private company of 20 can handle a product like Winamp is drastically different than a company with 5000+ employees. Flexibility, reaction speed, etc.

[mistermann]

Actually, they have a responsibility to endeavor to turn a profit. Growth at any cost imho comes from MBA's who want to spin the lottery wheel and cash out stock options.

[gambiting]

As well as it did for WinRar I suppose.

[AsymetricCom]

Depends on who you ask.