Patent ID: 7917148

Claim:
A method for enabling collaborative rating of musical media in a physical environment, the method comprising: receiving media selection data over a wireless communication link from a first portable computing device of a first user, the media selection data indicating a piece of musical media content for requested play within the physical environment; playing the piece of musical media content over an audio system within the physical environment, the playing being based at least in part upon the received media selection data; receiving subjective rating data over a wireless communication link from each of a plurality of portable computing devices, the subjective rating data from each portable computing device indicating a subjective partiality that a user of that portable computing device has towards the piece of musical media content currently playing within the physical environment, wherein the subjective rating data received over the wireless communication link from each of the plurality of portable computing devices includes a unique identifier that indicates a particular physical environment to which the rating relates; computing a statistical result based upon the subjective rating data received from the plurality of portable computing devices, the statistical result indicating a central tendency of partiality towards the piece of musical media content across a plurality of users of the plurality of portable computing devices; and providing a representation of the statistical result to the first user as an electronic message sent via a wireless communication link to the first portable computing device.