US20060004640A1 - Music identification system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a music identification/purchasing system, specifically to a method for marking the time and the name of the radio station in portable device such as a key holder, watch, cellular phone, beeper or the like which will allow the user to learn via internet or regular telephone the name of the song, artist and/or music company by matching the stored data with broadcast archive. The system will allow for purchase of the full length of the identified music item or related music. An alternate embodiment provides the listener with convenient means to record a segment of the music in which he/she is interested. The recorded music segment is played back into an apparatus which can identify the song based on the play back and provide the user with information on the identified song such as title, singer or artist, composer, producer, etc., and provide related purchasing information. The user can make selections and provide payment data to the music identification/purchasing system which will result in the selections being delivered to the user by mail.

Description

• This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 09/680,172 filed Oct. 5, 2000, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/186,565 filed Mar. 2, 2000 and 60/158,087 filed Oct. 7, 1999, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
• This invention relates to a music identification system, specifically to a method for marking the time and the name of the radio station in portable device such as a key holder, watch, cellular phone, beeper or the like which will allow the user to learn via internet or regular telephone the name of the song, artist and/or music company by matching the stored data with broadcast archive. The system will allow for purchase of identified segment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• Often a person hears a song, or part of a song that they would like to buy but they are unfamiliar with the name of the song or the singer. The music could be on a car radio or any other places where you might hear music. Even if you had the means to copy a segment of the music, you would still need to find someone familiar with the song to enable you to find and purchase the recording. With the number of musical recordings available, this could be an impossible task unless the song is known or popular. More often than not, the song is forgotten and perhaps never heard again. This represents lost sales to the recording industry and lost entertainment to the potential customer. As such, there is a need for a system allowing a person to learn who and what was playing on a given radio station at a specific time.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
• An object of this invention is to provide the listener with convenient means to record the name of radio station and time when the wanted music was played. Another object of this invention is a system that receives the recorded data via phone or internet modem and searches the radio station archives to inform the listener regarding the name of the artist, album or producer.
• Another object of the present invention is an apparatus or system that can provide purchasing information and allow the user to directly order the item.
• Another object of this invention is to provide the listener with convenient means to record a segment of the music in which he/she is interested.
• Another object of this invention is a system where the recorded music segment is played back into an apparatus which can identify the song based on the play back and provide the user with information on the identified song such as title, singer or artist, composer, producer, etc.
• These along with other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a reading of the detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of one embodiment of the music identification method of the present invention;
• FIG. 2 shows a top perspective view of a keychain recording device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
• FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a kiosk computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
• FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of the computer identification process of an embodiment of the present invention;
• FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of the music identification process of another embodiment of the present invention; and
• FIG. 6 shows a top perspective view of a recording device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
• Embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail hereunder referring to the drawings. In one embodiment, the recording device will be a key chain (similar to the one shown inFIG. 1), a watch, a cellular telephone, a beeper or a like device allowing for verbal recording. Referring now to the flowchart depicted inFIG. 5 and the recording device ofFIG. 6, therecording device70 is used by pressing abutton72 to record the name of the radio station in asimple word62 and then pressing abutton74 that will record actual time of recording or optionally the time can be verbally recorded by theuser64 usingmicrophone76, for example, “w w d k nine one point seven Cleveland” or “nine nine point four Pittsburgh”. Recording in simple words describing the numbers, letters, and city names will allow for standard computer recognition of transferred data into the system.
• In another embodiment, therecording device70 will have a telephone like key pad78 (not required for the cellular telephone) allowing the user to enter in to the memory numbers identifying the radio station and thenumeral city code62.
• In both cases, the device would have a telephone beeper orspeaker80 allowing forsimpler data transfer66 into the processing system (no modem or access to the computer required). The user can lift a telephone receiver and press send or transmitbutton82 to automatically dial the proper 800# (or 888#), user ID number, and recorded station information.
• Thefeedback68 allowing for purchase of wanted and unknown music would arrive to the user via e-mail or through regular mail via an automatically generated and printed post card.
• In another embodiment, new digital radio manufacturers would provide for a “signal port”84 on the face of the radio receiver (mechanical electronic connector or infrared port). This would allow for digital recording of the sample of played music by plugging the device into the port or by infrared data transfer holding the device near the port.
• In this case, automatic matching with digital music files would allow for recognition of wanted music without access into the radio station archives. The drawback would be a requirement to transfer the samples digitally via modem.
• Referring now toFIG. 1, a flow chart shows the method of the present invention comprising the steps of recording amusic segment50, transmitting a playback of the recorded music segment into amicrophone52, identifying the recordedmusic segment54, reporting information related to the identifiedmusic segment56, providingoptions58 to obtain additional related information or to obtain an identification of another recorded music segment, and providingpurchasing information60 including the means to direct order the selected musical works. The steps are described in detail below.
• Referring now toFIG. 2, arecording device20 is shown attached to akeychain15. Therecording device20 can be either digital or analog. Therecording device20 can be of any known type or configuration, which is convenient to store on a person, in a pocket or purse such. With the continuing miniaturization of chips, therecording device20 could easily be configured as a credit card or any other configuration, which is typically carried by a person on a continuous basis. When a song that the user wants identified is playing, the user need only press therecord button22 ondevice20 and hold themicrophone24 of the device near the source of the music. When a sufficient segment is recorded50, the user presses thestop button26 to end the recording. The song can be replayed by pressing the back (digital) or rewind (analog)button28 and then pressing theplay button30 and listening to thespeaker32. Any device capable of recording and playing back a music segment would be acceptable for use with the present invention.
• Referring now toFIG. 3, once a segment of music has been recorded50, the listener can go to a computer ormusic identification kiosk10 having acomputer interface12 and replay or transmit themusic52 into amicrophone14 of the interface. In one embodiment, theinterface12 is connected to anautomated database16 over the Internet. Theautomated database16 uses a central processing unit and search stored information as known in the art to analyze the music segment and compare it to stored works until a match, matches or near matches are found and the music segment is identified54. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,223 although other systems and searchable audio databases as are known in the art may be used. It is important to note that theidentification step54 performed by theautomated database16 could just as easily be one or more music “experts” or disc jockeys seated in a room that listen to the recorded music segment and identify the song based on their memory and knowledge of music. Once the music segment is identified54, the information related to the song, i.e. title, artist, etc., could be supplied to thecustomer56 directly or entered into the automated database where the information, and any specified related information is supplied to thecustomer56.
• It is also contemplated that the user can access theautomated database16 directly over the telephone. The user would call a specified number and follow instructions provided by theautomated database16. When prompted, the user can playback themusic segment52 into the telephone microphone. Theautomated database16 would then identify the music segment and report the results back over thetelephone56. The telephone access to the automated database is configured to allow additional related information andoptions58 to be accessed, including orderinginformation60, just as with the other embodiments.
• Often, the quality of the recorded music segment may be poor as the recorder may also record background noise from other sources such as the car engine, noise from other cars, people talking, etc. Theautomated database system16 includes noise reduction filters (not shown) as known in the art, to filter out any background noise in the recording which may inhibit the system from finding a match. In one embodiment, theautomated database16 will search and identify at least one characteristic of the song, such as the melody, and retrieve all songs which match the particular identified characteristic. The search would thus retrieve a song or melody produced by various artists or different recordings produced by the same artist at different times. However, it is contemplated that thedatabase16 is capable of recognizing specific artists. Thedatabase16 can provide the user with information on the identified song such as title, singer or artist, composer, producer, etc. which can be browsed or selected from avideo monitor screen38 using either a touch-screen orcontrol buttons40. It is contemplated that in addition to the song from the music segment, the user will haveadditional options58 such as, but not limited to, the ability to search for other works by the same artist, or the same song by different artists and be able to play portions of these works on a selectable basis through aspeaker34 or attachedheadphones36. The user also has theoption58 of transmitting anadditional music segment52 to be identified54. In certain embodiments, theautomated database16 may also provide the cost and/or location of the identified or selected music forpurchase60. If preferred, the user can order the selection through anordering system48 of the automateddatabase16 and pay by conventional means such as swiping a valid credit card through ascanner18 attached to thecomputer interface12. Thedatabase16 may also provide the user with an additional music segment to confirm the identity of the segment initially supplied by the user.
• It is contemplated that theautomated database16 can exist as a stand-alone unit within themusic identification kiosk10 either such that the database would be located on site or at a centralized computer located off-site. Theautomated database16 would be updated on a periodic basis to include newly releasedmusic44 and the latest price andavailability46. All new music would have a digital code in the background to allow for simple recognition software as is known in the art.
• In a typical scenario, thekiosk10 would be located in a retail store. Potential customers wanting to identify a music segment would be able to use thekiosk10 to identify the music segment and locate the music within the store.
• It will also be possible to directly access theautomated database16 directly from apersonal home computer42 over the Internet.

Claims (13)

1. A method for purchasing a recorded music item comprising the following steps:

a recording data related to a music item playing on a radio;

b transmitting said data to a music identification/purchasing system;

c receiving purchasing information from said music identification/purchasing system related to said music item;

d transmitting at least one music item selection and payment information to said music identification/purchasing system; and

e receiving said at least one music item selection.

2. The method for purchasing a recorded music item as recited inclaim 1 further comprising the step, after step b and before step c, of identifying said music item by comparing the time said music item was recorded with a play list from a designated music station.

3. The method for purchasing a recorded music item as recited inclaim 1, wherein said data includes at least a time, a date, and either a station frequency and a location of said station or a four letter station identification code.

4. The method for purchasing a recorded music item as recited inclaim 1, wherein said data is transmitted to said music identification/purchasing system by means of the Internet.

5. The method for purchasing a recorded music item as recited inclaim 1, wherein said data is transmitted to said music identification/purchasing system by means of a telephone.

6. The method for purchasing a recorded music item as recited inclaim 1, wherein said purchasing information is received by means of the Internet.

7. The method for purchasing a recorded music item as recited inclaim 1, wherein said purchasing information is received by mail.

8. The method for purchasing and recorded music item has recited inclaim 1, wherein said step of receiving said at least one music item selection is accomplished over the Internet.

9. The method for purchasing and recorded music item has recited inclaim 1, wherein said step of receiving said at least one music item selection is accomplished by mail.

10. A method for purchasing a recorded music item comprising the following steps:

a recording a segment of music playing on a radio;

b transmitting said recorded segment to a music identification/purchasing system;

c receiving purchasing information from said music identification/purchasing system;

d transmitting at least one music item selection and payment information to said music identification/purchasing system; and

e receiving said music item selection.

11. The method for purchasing a recorded music item as recited inclaim 10 further comprising the step, after step b and before step c, of identifying said music item.

12. The method for purchasing a recorded music item as recited inclaim 11, wherein said step of identifying said music item comprises the following steps:

entering said recorded music item into a central processing unit;

analyzing and comparing said recorded musical item to music contained in a database; and

identifying a music selection providing the closest match to said recorded music item.

13. A process of identifying music comprising:

providing a recorded musical segment;

entering said musical segment into a central processing unit;

analyzing and comparing said musical segment to a database of musical works;

identifying at least one closest match; and

generating database information regarding said at least one closest match.

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