Newer versions of WMA became available: Windows Media Audio 2 in 1999,[12] Windows Media Audio 7 in 2000,[13] Windows Media Audio 8 in 2001,[14] and Windows Media Audio 9 in 2003.[4] Microsoft first announced its plans to license WMA technology to third parties in 1999.[15] Although earlier versions of Windows Media Player played WMA files, support for WMA file creation was not added until the seventh version.[16] In 2003, Microsoft released new audio codecs that were not compatible with the original WMA codec. These codecs were Windows Media Audio 9 Professional,[3] Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless,[3] and Windows Media Audio 9 Voice.[3]