Cadence-based playlists management system

• US 9,563,700 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2015
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Spotify AB (Spotify Technology SA)
• Original Assignee: Spotify AB (Spotify Technology SA)
• Inventors: Garmark, Sten, Dziuk, Dariusz, Smith, Owen, Olofsson, Lars Christian, Toumpelis, Nikolaos
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, HUNG D
• Application Number:
  US14/883,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20160342686A1
• Time in Patent Office: 482 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/639 using playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/683 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/686 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title or artist information, time, location or usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path

Abstract

A system for supporting a user'"'"'s repetitive motion activity operates to manage cadence-based playlists identifying one or more media content items having a tempo corresponding to a user'"'"'s cadence. The cadence-based playlists can be categorized by different tempi or tempo ranges that cover all likely cadences during the user'"'"'s activities. A media-playback device is provided to acquire a user'"'"'s cadence and retrieve a cadence-based playlist associated with a tempo or a tempo range corresponding to the cadence.

Claims

1. A method of automatically playing back one or more media content items to support a repetitive motion activity, the method comprising:

generating, using at least one computing device, a plurality of cadence-based playlists for a predetermined range of cadence values by;

creating the plurality of cadence-based playlists, the plurality of cadence-based playlists associated with subsets of the predetermined range of cadence values, respectively;

identifying tempi of media content items;

associating the media content items with the plurality of cadence-based playlists, respectively, based on the tempi of the media content items, each cadence-based playlist including one or more of the media content items with the tempi of the one or more of the media content items corresponding to the subset of the predetermined range of cadence values of that playlist; and

storing the plurality of cadence-based playlists;

after generating the plurality of cadence-based playlists, acquiring, using a media-playback device, a user'"'"'s cadence associated with the repetitive motion activity;

sending a request based on the user'"'"'s cadence from the media-playback device to the at least one computing device to cause the at least one computing device to select one of the plurality of cadence-based playlists, the selected playlist being associated with a subset of the predetermined range of cadence values within which the acquired user'"'"'s cadence falls;

retrieving from the at least one computing device data usable to initiate playback of media content items associated with the selected one of the plurality of cadence-based playlists, using the media-playback device; and

playing back the selected one of the plurality of cadence-based playlists on the media-playback device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein acquiring a user'"'"'s cadence includes obtaining a user selection of a tempo, the tempo defining the user'"'"'s cadence.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, using the media-playback device, a tempo corresponding to the cadence,

wherein retrieving a playlist associated with the cadence includes retrieving a playlist associated with the tempo.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user selection of playlist characteristics,

wherein retrieving a playlist associated with the tempo includes retrieving a playlist associated with the playlist characteristics.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the playlist characteristics include at least one of genre, theme, and era of a playlist.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the cadence has changed to a second cadence beyond a threshold;

if the cadence has changed to the second cadence beyond the threshold, retrieving a second playlist associated with the second cadence; and

playing back the second playlist.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

if the cadence has not changed beyond the threshold, continuing to play back the playlist.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the cadence is below a predetermined level; and

stopping play back of the playlist.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining that the cadence is equal to, or above, the predetermined level; and

playing back a playlist associated with the cadence.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the tempo is manually locked; and

if the tempo is manually locked, playing back the playlist associated with the tempo regardless of change in the cadence.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein generating a plurality of cadence-based playlists further includes:

identifying the predetermined range of cadence values;

dividing the predetermined range of cadence values to the subsets; and

associating one or more of the plurality of cadence-based playlists with each of the sub sets.

12. A method of generating cadence-based playlists to support a repetitive motion activity, the method comprising:

creating a plurality of cadence-based playlists, the plurality of cadence-based playlists associated with subsets of a predetermined range of cadence values, respectively;

identifying tempi of the media content items;

associating the media content items with the plurality of cadence-based playlists, respectively, based on the tempi of the media content items, each cadence-based playlist including one or more of the media content items with the tempi of the one or more of the media content items corresponding to the subset of the predetermined range of cadence values of that playlist;

storing the plurality of cadence-based playlists;

after storing the plurality of cadence-based playlists, receiving a request from a media-playback device based on a cadence associated with the repetitive motion activity;

selecting one of the plurality of cadence-based playlists based on the request, the selected playlist being associated with a subset of the predetermined range of cadence values within which the cadence associated with the repetitive motion activity falls; and

sending data usable to initiate playback of media content items associated with the selected cadence-based playlist.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the cadence-based playlists are associated with one or more playlist characteristics.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the playlist characteristics include at least one of genre, theme, and era of a playlist.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the tempo ranges are defined at predetermined intervals.

16. A computer-readable storage medium comprising software instructions that, when executed, cause one or more computing devices to:

generate a plurality of cadence-based playlists for a predetermined range of cadence values by;

creating the plurality of cadence-based playlists, the plurality of cadence-based playlists associated with subsets of the predetermined range of cadence values, respectively;

identifying tempi of media content items;

associating the media content items with the plurality of cadence-based playlists, respectively, based on the tempi of the media content items, each cadence-based playlist including one or more of the media content items with the tempi of the one or more of the media content items corresponding to the subset of the predetermined range of cadence values of that playlist; and

storing the plurality of cadence-based playlists;

after generating the plurality of cadence-based playlists, acquire a user'"'"'s cadence associated with a repetitive motion activity;

send a request to select one of the plurality of cadence-based playlists based on the user'"'"'s cadence, the selected playlist being associated with a subset of the predetermined range of cadence values within which the acquired user'"'"'s cadence falls;

retrieve data usable to initiate playback of media content items associated with the selected one of the plurality of cadence-based playlists; and

play back the selected one of the plurality of cadence-based playlists.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the software instructions further causes the one or more computing devices to:

obtain a user selection of a tempo to define the user'"'"'s cadence.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the software instructions further causes the one or more computing devices to:

receive a user selection of playlist characteristics;

wherein the playlist associated with the cadence is associated with the selected playlist characteristics.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the software instructions further causes the one or more computing devices to:

determine whether the cadence has changed to a second cadence, the second cadence corresponding to a tempo beyond the tempo range of the playlist;

if the cadence has changed to the second cadence, retrieving a second playlist associated with the second cadence, the second playlist associated with a second tempo range and including one or more second media content items with tempi of the second media content items within the second tempo range; and

play back the second playlist.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the software instructions further causes the one or more computing devices to:

determine that the cadence is below a predetermined level; and

stop play back of the playlist on the one or more computing devices.