Patent ID: 9576047
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04H,H04L

Claim:
1. A computer implemented method for generating a media playlist including a plurality of tracks to be played on a listener's mobile or stationary client device with Internet radio capabilities, the client device intended to be connected to the Internet, the method comprising: obtaining, as a listener's input into the listener's client device, a playlist definition; selecting, from a plurality of tracks, tracks meeting the playlist definition to form the playlist, wherein the playlist is formed by playlist entries that include track identifications referring to selected ones of the plurality of tracks; wherein the plurality of tracks comprises at least one of (i) tracks present in a remote master media inventory, (ii) tracks present in an Internet-based cloud memory environment, and (iii) tracks present in a local media content inventory of the listener's client device: wherein the step of selecting tracks that meet the playlist definition includes comparing the playlist definition with entries for tracks in a metadata encyclopedia which includes metadata derived from (i) a master metadata encyclopedia referring to the tracks present in the remote master media inventory and the tracks present in the cloud memory environment, and (ii) the local media content inventory kept in the local listener's client device; wherein the metadata encyclopedia is kept locally in the client device, and wherein each entry in the local metadata encyclopedia refers to a respective track and includes at least one track descriptor and at least one similarity data descriptor; providing the playlist to the listener's client device for obtaining the tracks indicated on the playlist for playing the tracks in the playlist in an order defined in the playlist; wherein the track descriptors Include one or more of the following: a name of a track, artist or genre, melody, harmony, instrumentation, rhythm, vocals, or lyrics, wherein the similarity data descriptors include one or more of the following: how similar is a certain artist to another one, how similar is a certain track to another one, or how similar is the instrumentation of a certain track to the instrumentation of another one; wherein the metadata encyclopedia includes: computer-software-generated track-to-track similarity coefficients; computer-software-generated artist-to-artist similarity coefficients; explicit user preference information; listener's past listening behavior; existing mood-, genre-, and theme-based reference playlists; computer-software-generated content-based track annotations based on at least one of mood, genre, and editorial track annotations; wherein the playlist definition is either chosen from a predefined set of playlist definitions or created by a listener, and includes at least one of “User Station”, “Artist Station”, “Broadcast Station”, “Mood/Genre Station” and “Listener's Station”; wherein the rule engine creates a playlist in accordance with the listener's playlist definition by executing a series of operations on an initially empty list, said operations including at least one of: “Add”, “Fill”, “Insert”, “Block”, “Choose”, “Limit”, “Move” and “Mutate and Score”; wherein the rule engine is programmed and adapted to perform filter functions to the track insertion process as tracks are added to the present playlist, where, if any particular filter function is saturated, subsequent track additions that also fall into the criteria of that filter function are not inserted into the present playlist, said filter functions including at least one of: “Artist saturation filter”, “Album saturation filter”, “Track saturation filter” and “Artist block”.