System and methods for selecting music on the basis of subjective content
First Claim
1. In an interactive media distribution system including a media server, a distribution network, an output device and an input device, a method for selecting programming information items from said media server comprising the steps of:
- storing on said server a plurality of programming information items and editorial data associated with said programming information items;
playing, in response to a first input signal from said input device, an initial programming information item from said plurality of programming information items;
creating, in response to a second input signal from said input device, a list of proposed new programming information items on the basis of said editorial data associated with said initial programming information item and said plurality of programming information items;
presenting on said output device said list of said proposed new programming information items; and
adding, in response to a third input signal from said input device, said proposed new programming information items to a playlist.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An interactive network provides music to subscribers. A "more like" function allows a subscriber to use a seed song to identify other songs that are similar to the seed song, and to add the new songs to the current playlist. The similarity between songs is based on the subjective content of the songs, as reflected in style tables prepared by editors. The subscriber may control the closeness of the match by adjusting a style slider provided by the user interface. A style equalizer employs eight faders that indicate the predominant styles of the songs in the playlist. A subscriber may use the style equalizer to see what types of songs are included in the playlist, and to adjust the mix of songs that are played from the playlist.
1598 Citations
45 Claims
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1. In an interactive media distribution system including a media server, a distribution network, an output device and an input device, a method for selecting programming information items from said media server comprising the steps of:
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storing on said server a plurality of programming information items and editorial data associated with said programming information items; playing, in response to a first input signal from said input device, an initial programming information item from said plurality of programming information items; creating, in response to a second input signal from said input device, a list of proposed new programming information items on the basis of said editorial data associated with said initial programming information item and said plurality of programming information items; presenting on said output device said list of said proposed new programming information items; and adding, in response to a third input signal from said input device, said proposed new programming information items to a playlist. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. In an interactive music distribution system including a server, a distribution network, an output device and an input device, a method for selecting musical selections from said server comprising the steps of:
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storing on said server a plurality of musical selections and editorial data associated with said musical selections; playing, in response to a first input signal from said input device, an initial musical selection from said plurality of musical selections; creating, in response to a second input signal from said input device, a list of proposed new musical selections on the basis of said editorial data associated with said initial musical selection and said plurality of musical selections; presenting on said output device said list of said proposed new musical selections; and adding, in response to a third input signal from said input device, said proposed new musical selections to a playlist. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for classifying and selecting programming information items having subjective content, comprising the steps of:
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storing a plurality of programming information items; storing editorial data associated with said programming information items, said editorial data including a plurality of categories and weightings associating each programming information item with said categories; identifying, in response to a first input signal from an input device, an initial programming information item from said plurality of programming information items; determining, in response to a second input signal from said input device, the setting of a matching closeness indicator; determining matching categories for said initial programming entry, said matching categories including the categories whose weightings correspond to the position of the matching closeness indicator; identifying matching programming information items, said matching programming information items including said matching categories with weightings corresponding to the setting of said matching closeness indicator; and presenting said matching programming information items of a user. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A system for classifying and selecting programming information having subjective content, comprising:
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a data storage device containing a plurality of programming information items and editorial data associated with said programming information items; an output device for providing information to a user; an input device for receiving input from said user; and a computer associated with said data storage device, said computer being configured to; play, in response to a first input signal from said input device, an initial programming information item from said plurality of programming information items, create, in response to a second input signal from said input device, a list of proposed new programming information items on the basis of said editorial data associated with said programming information items, present on said output device said list of proposed new programming information items, and add, in response to a third input signal from said input device, said proposed new programming information items to a playlist. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. In an interactive system including a server, an output device, and an input device, a method for indicating the mix of programming information included in a playlist and adjusting the mix of programming information played from said playlist, comprising the steps of:
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loading a playlist including a plurality of programming information items; loading editorial data associated with said plurality of programming information items; displaying on said output device a predetermined number of indicators; associating with each of said indicators a category from said editorial data, said indicators being positioned to indicate the portion of said plurality of programming information items corresponding to each of said categories; adjusting, in response to an input signal from said input device, the position of at least one of said indicators; selecting programming information items from said playlist such that the portions of said selected programming information items associated with each of said categories corresponds to the adjusted positions of said indicators; and playing said selected programming information items on said output device. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. In an interactive music system including a server, a video output device, an audio output device and an input device, a method for indicating the mix of songs included in a playlist and adjusting the mix of songs played from said playlist, comprising the steps of:
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loading a playlist including a plurality of songs; loading editorial data associated with said plurality of songs; displaying on said video output device a predetermined number of indicators; associating with each of said indicators a category from said editorial data; setting the position of said indicators to indicate the portion of said plurality of songs corresponding to each of said categories; adjusting, in response to an input signal from said input device, the position of at least one of said indicators; selecting songs from said playlist such that the portions of said selected songs associated with each of said categories corresponds to the adjusted positions of said indicators; and playing said selected songs on said audio output device. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification