Method and system for time-shortening songs

• US 20060272480A1
• Filed: 03/24/2006
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Reel George Productions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Reel George Productions, Inc.
• Inventors: Gimarc, George
• Granted Patent: US 7,473,839 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/600
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0025 Automatic or semi-automatic music composition, e.g. producing random music, applying rules from music theory or modifying a musical piece automatically producing a series of tones G10H1/26
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/031 Musical analysis, i.e. isolation, extraction or identification of musical elements or musical parameters from a raw acoustic signal or from an encoded audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/131 Morphing, i.e. transformation of a musical piece into a new different one, e.g. remix
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/091 Info, i.e. juxtaposition of unrelated auxiliary information or commercial messages with or between music files
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/131 Library retrieval, i.e. searching a database or selecting a specific musical piece, segment, pattern, rule or parameter set

Abstract

A method and system for time-shortening one or more songs to generate time-shortened versions of the one or more songs are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a song editor time-shortens one or more songs and provides the time-shortened versions to a music provider. The music provider can then distribute one or more of the time-shortened songs to one or more listeners. Alternatively, in another embodiment, a song editor enables a music provider to time-shorten one or more songs. The song editor can enable the music provider by providing the music provider a procedure to time-shorten a song, where the song is provided by the song editor or is obtained separately by the music provider. The music provider can then apply the supplied procedure to the song to generate a time-shortened vision. Alternatively, the song editor can enable the music provider by providing one or more characteristics of a song selected for time-shortening. These characteristics can be provided to the music provider as identifiers embedded in the data representative of the song or as identifiers provided separately, such as in a table. The music provider can then use the supplied characteristics to time-shorten the song according to a procedure available to the music provider. Various embodiments of the present invention can be performed manually or by using an automated process, such as a software application executed by a computer.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

for each song of a plurality of songs, identifying one or more characteristics of a plurality of song portions; and

providing the one or more characteristics to a music provider, wherein the music provider is enabled to provide modified songs, the modified songs having one or more of their respective song portions removed, based on the one or more characteristics.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the music provider includes a radio broadcaster.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the music provider includes an Internet broadcaster.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the music provider includes a provider of telephone-hold music.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the music provider includes a provider of devices enabled to play the modified songs.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing includes providing the plurality of songs to the music provider.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of songs includes identifiers associated with each of the plurality of song portions.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the identifiers specify the one or more characteristics identified.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifiers are embedded in data representative of the song and where the step of providing includes providing the data having the embedded identifiers to the music provider.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying includes identifying each song portion as one of:

a chorus, a verse, an intro, an outro, and a bridge.

11. The method of claim 1, further including the step of associating characteristic weights to each of the plurality of song portions.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of providing characteristic weights includes providing characteristic weights for each song portion relative to other song portions.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the characteristic weight associated with a song portion are based on a familiarity of the song portion.

14. The method of claim 1, further including the step of, for each song of the plurality of songs, providing a procedure associated with the song to the music provider, wherein the procedure is to be used by the music provider to time-shorten the song.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the procedure specifies a modification of a song having a first song format to a time-shortened version of the song having a reduced format.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first song format is XXX (i.e. “

I/V/C/O” and

the reduced format includes YYY (i.e. “

I/V/O”

), wherein V is representative of a verse.

17. A method comprising the steps of:

identifying a plurality of song portions of a first song;

identifying a first song format of the first song based on the plurality of song portions; and

providing, to a music provider, a procedure to shorten the first song to generate a modified song having a reduced format, the reduced format shorter than the first song format, wherein the procedure identifies at least one song portion of the plurality of song portions of the first song to be modified.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the music provider includes a radio broadcaster.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the music provider includes an Internet broadcaster.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the music provider includes a provider of telephone-hold music.

21-73. -73. (canceled)