Other

Sony Corporation

Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

Sony Electronics Inc

Sony Music Holdings Inc.

David A Hughes

Matthew A Carpenter

Phuong L Nguyen

Allen J Smith

Mandana Massiha

A system and method including an agent for selecting at least two songs among simultaneously streaming songs based on user information and inserting additional content in the duration of time between the end of the earlier song and the start of the later song.

System and method for filling content gaps

Systems and methods for controlling the use and duplication of digital content distributed on removable media are described. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention digital content is protected by allowing a particular number of protected (e.g., encrypted) copies of the digital content to be made. Typically, these copies may only be used on and moved between authorized devices. In one embodiment, if copies are desired, the maximum number of allowable copies of the protected digital content are made and stored on a computer's hard drive when the storage medium (e.g., a CD) containing the content is inserted into the computer. Each copy can then be moved but not copied to other devices (e.g., portable solid state devices). In an alternative embodiment, the storage medium containing the digital content is writable (e.g., a CD-R). When the storage medium is inserted into the computer, the computer writes information to the storage medium which regulates future copying and playing of the digital content on the storage medium.

System and method for controlling the use and duplication of digital content distributed on removable media

A transaction for downloadable digital data is facilitated over an electronic network. A presence is maintained on the electronic network to which a consumer may connect. A page is transmitted from the presence to the consumer over the electronic network, the page including information concerning the downloadable digital data. A command is received from the consumer over the electronic network indicating that the consumer wishes the transaction for the downloadable digital data. Format options are transmitted from the presence to the consumer over the electronic network via the at page, the format options being selectable by the consumer and including at least one of (i) types of software on which the downloadable digital data may be executed; (ii) types of portable devices on which the downloadable digital data may be stored; (iii) types of compression formats in which the downloadable digital data may be configured; (iv) types of CODECs through which the downloadable digital data may be processed; and (v) types of digital rights management algorithms to which the downloadable digital data may be subject.

Interface for presenting downloadable digital data content format options

A system and method including an agent for selecting a song among simultaneously streaming songs based on user information is presented.

System and method for selecting a music channel

A transaction for purchasable content is facilitated over an electronic network, wherein the purchasable content includes downloadable digital data. A first presence is maintained on the electronic network to which a consumer may connect. A first page is transmitted from the first presence to the consumer over the electronic network, such that the first page includes information concerning the purchasable content. A command is received from the consumer over the electronic network indicating that the consumer wishes the transaction for the purchasable content. The consumer is automatically linked to a second presence on the electronic network in response to the command such that the consumer may interact with the second presence over the electronic network to complete the transaction for the purchasable content.

Method for facilitating a transaction for purchasable content over an electronic network

Electronic Music Distribution (EMD), wherein music stored as digital files is downloadable by end users from retail computer databases or from Peer to Peer &ldquo;file sharing&rdquo; databases such as Napster, has developed rapidly in the recent past as an alternative to the traditional distribution channels for recorded music. While EMD holds great promise as a distribution vehicle, certain limitations exist with regard to the capability of existing distribution models to classify or characterize the audio quality of the files available for download. This limitation is particularly acute in the Peer-to-Peer context where the downloadable database consists of files from a multiplicity of sources. The present invention utilizes an objective measure of audio quality that is, in one embodiment, presented as part of a response to a user or subscriber search query.

Audio quality based culling in a peer-to-peer distribution model

A method and apparatus of music distribution from a media player. A media player is provided with a &ldquo;send to friend&rdquo; icon. In one embodiment, when the icon is selected, a clipping of the currently playing music selection is taken from a predetermined location in the music selection and compressed using a fidelity reducing compression technique to produce a sample of the current selection suitable for distribution. The compressed clipping is sent to a selected recipient or recipients by email in the background while the music selection continues to play. The recipient(s) can be either a default recipient(s) or a recipient(s) selected from a list as in an address book application.

Media player for distribution of music samples

A method of sampling a music selection to produce a music clipping suitable for super distribution. A computer readable music file is sampled by defining a starting point for the sample at a fixed time from the beginning of the music selection. The stopping point is similarly selected as a fixed time from the starting point for the sample. The actual fixed times can be varied based upon the genre of the music when another embodiment flags or headers can be used to define the starting and ending time of the sample. Once the sample has been defined, data from the sample is extracted and compressed to reduce the file size to a size suitable for super distribution.

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New York, NY, United States of America

David A Hughes