Nostalgic Winamp Media Player Skin to Be Sold as NFTs for Charity

Winamp, a media player for Microsoft Windows, will put its nostalgic skin under the hammer on May 16, 2022. 20 NFTs inspired from the original skin made by various digital artists will then be sold separately.

Winamp joins a growing list of classic brands taken by the NFT wave, including the dated gaming firm Atari, in an attempt to revitalize the trade label. 

Through the Winamp Foundation, an initiative “to help musicians across the world create music they love,” the brand will auction off a 1:1 NFT edition of its iconic skin from the late 90s. The NFT will be available on OpenSea starting from May 16 to May 22.

In addition, 20 NFTs derivatives will be launched on May 23. The derivatives will be sourced from NFT artists and should be based on the Winamp skin. Submissions have since started earlier this week until April 15.

The Winamp team, which also consists of scientists, is set to announce chosen pieces on May 18.

Selected artists will be awarded 20% of the earnings from the primary sale of their NFTs. 19 of the pieces will be sold in versions of 100 copies, while the remaining one will get 97. All the NFTs will sell for 0.08 Ethereum — around $200.

Moreover, the artists will receive 10% of any royalties on secondary or later sales. The remaining 80% from the initial sale will be redistributed to charity projects, including Winamp’s first partner Music Fund.

According to Winamp Head of Business Development, Thierry Ascarez, NFT buyers will gain a blockchain token linked to an image of either the classic skin or one of the derivatives – a common setup for NFTs. Despite not owning the copyright, buyers do have the right to “copy, reproduce, and display” the image.

The selected artists will have to agree to transfer all intellectual property rights for their output to Winamp, as stated in the terms and conditions.