Systems and methods for the identification and/or distribution of music and other forms of useful information

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications systems and methods. More specifically, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for identifying and / or distributing music and other types of useful information for users in a very simple and convenient manner. A variety of systems and methods are disclosed which provide users with quick and convenient access to various forms of information, such as, for example, audio information including music and news items as well as coupons and other information. The systems and methods allow users to store data representative of a time of transmission and preferably a source of transmission so that data of interest may be identified for ordering an / or downloading.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications systems and methods. More specifically, the present invention is directed to systems and methods for identifying and / or distributing music and other types of useful information for users in a very simple and convenient manner. A variety of systems and methods are disclosed which provide users with quick and convenient access to various forms of information, such as, for example, audio information including music and news items as well as coupons and other information. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] Music and other forms of audio information are currently made available to consumers for purchase through retail stores in the form of compact discs, cassette tapes and other tangible media. Audio information is also currently presented to consumers through both radio and television. More recently, audio information has been made a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] It is apparent that there are a number of shortcomings in the existing conventional systems for distributing information including music and news. In light of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is to provide systems and methods that identify and maintain information in a readily accessible format concerning an artist and song that is heard by a radio listener. Another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide systems and methods that allow consumers to have convenient access to music and other types of audio information. Yet another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide distribution channels that are readily accessible to consumers and which ensure that artists receive fair and appropriate compensation for their works. Yet another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide consumers with quick and convenient access to other forms of information such as news items and marketing information such as, for example, coupons.

[0014] In accordance with a first preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a radio, television or other electronic data receiver is provided with a memory that may be utilized for storing information that is sufficient to identify both the artist and a particular track that the listener may wish to purchase. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the storage of this information may be achieved in a variety of different manners or formats. Additionally, the information that has been stored may be utilized in a variety of different ways in order to provide the user with the desired music or other audio information.

[0015] In accordance with a first exemplary embodiment, the systems and methods of the present invention rely upon time of reception information and information identifying the transmitting station in order to determine the particular artist and track that the listener finds to be enjoyable. In accordance with a first preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, a plurality of radio stations post play list information preferably on one or more web sites that provides a correlation between the time at which a particular track has been played and the station identification information. This information may be used for identifying and / or ordering a particular song. For example, a user listening to a particular station (WXXX) at 3:02 PM on a particular day who hears a song that is of interest to the individual will be able to identify the song with the time of reception and station information by correlating this information with the corresponding play list information.

[0016] In a first preferred exemplary embodiment, the user need only access a single web site with the stored transmitting station and time information in order to identify the desired artist and track. In accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment, a user who hears a particular song that is desirable over a radio enabled with this technology simply presses a button which initiates storage of the transmitting station and time information in an electronic memory that records a designation of the transmitting station and the pertinent time information. In a preferred exemplary embodiment, this information is stored in a flash memory element such as, for example, a Memory Stick or similar flash memory product. Through this technique, the user is able to store a significant amount of information that identifies songs and / or other information that the user desires.

[0017] Although a flash memory or EEPROM is preferred due to the non-volatile nature of these memory products, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other alternate data storage devices may be utilized as well including, for example, magnetic media such as hard disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs, DVDs and random access memory (RAM). The radio or other device such as, for example, a television, may have the memory for storing this information built-in or it may be only temporarily connected thereto for the purpose of storing the pertinent information. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that an interim storage device may also be utilized whereby the information is temporary stored in a first memory and thereafter transferred to a subsequent storage device for ordering the desired song or other information.

[0018] Information may also be stored in a memory associated with a remote-control device such as, for example, the remote-control unit of a television. This embodiment is particularly suitable for storing information pertaining to television news items as well as coupons and the like. In such an embodiment, a separate button is preferably easily used for storing information pertaining to the transmitting station and the time at which the information was transmitted. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that a new or dedicated button need not be provided and that the multiple selection of an existing button or the selection of a combination of existing buttons may be utilized to cause the storage of the necessary information. For example, based on protocol the initiation of the storage process could be provided simply by pressing the enter button where no change of channels has occurred. The system could recognize this key selection as a request for storing current channel information and the time as noted.

Problems solved by technology

In the conventional music and audio information distribution systems described above, it is often difficult for a consumer to possess sufficient information in order to know both the artist and the name of a particular song that the consumer wishes to purchase.

While it is true that most radio stations will identify both the song and the artist for music that has been played by the station, this information is not always readily available and accessible to the consumer.

An individual who hears a song played over the radio may be preoccupied with other tasks and therefore be unable to write down the necessary information for subsequently purchasing the song.

As a result, although the individual may wish to purchase this song, he or she is unable to do so without investing additional time to determine the artist and track that is desired.

One additional deficiency of conventional music and other audio information distribution techniques is that they require that the consumer maintain the necessary identifying information until such time as the consumer is ready to purchase the music.

As a result, the consumer may not make the necessary trip to the store for purchasing the desired song or other information.

While it is true that the Internet has provided consumers with alternate and perhaps more convenient means for purchasing music, even this distribution channel suffers from the same problem which requires that the purchaser possess sufficient identifying information concerning a particular song.

Conventional distribution channels for music also suffer from shortcomings that typically prevent consumers from making spur of the moment purchases of music.

The problem with these distribution channels is that they typically prevent the user from making an instantaneous decision to purchase a particular song.

As a result, when the consumer finally is at a store which sells music, the consumer may have forgotten about the song or simply made the decision not to purchase the song.

This represents a very significant loss of potential business for the music industry.

This represents a very substantial cost to the music industry in lost revenues.

While print ads provide consumers with the ability to redeem coupons as a tangible reminder of the product, there is no analogous mechanism for radio or television advertisements.

Yet another shortcoming of the existing radio and television systems is that they do not provide users with the ability to immediately access information relating to a particular news item.

Currently, the individual who hears the news item is unable to relay any specific information concerning the news item to the person with the medical condition beyond that which the individual is able to remember.

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