System and method for generating a thumbnail image for an audiovisual file

1. A method of generating an interactive audiovisual library having thumbnail images that represent plural audiovisual files graphically representing an audiovisual file with a thumbnail image, each audiovisual file used to store audiovisual content, comprising:

generating a thumbnail image for each of the plural audiovisual files by: analyzing data related to the audiovisual file for each of plural data categories relating to the content of the audiovisual file, each data category associated with a portion of a thumbnail template;

for each data category, identifying at least one of a graphic or a graphical attribute based on the data analysis; and

generating the thumbnail image by applying the identified at least one graphic or graphical attribute for each data category to the associated portion of the thumbnail template, wherein each graphic or ,graphical attribute visually represents a corresponding property of the audiovisual file to a user; and

displaying the thumbnails in a directory as an interactive audiovisual library of the audiovisual content stored by the audiovisual files, each thumbnail displayed in the directory configured to provided access to the corresponding audiovisual file; and wherein the portions of the thumbnail template include a background and at least one sub-icon overlaid with respect to the background.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one portion of the thumbnail image is user interactive.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the interactive portion of the thumbnail image provides a link to at least one of an Internet webpage or a file that has an association with the audiovisual content.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the interactive portion of the thumbnail image provides information about the audiovisual content.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the thumbnails are displayed on a display of a mobile telephone.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the data categories relates to at least one of age of the audiovisual content or play frequency of the audiovisual content.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein a color of the portion of the thumbnail template corresponding to the age or play frequency data category is selected to portray at least one of relative age of the audiovisual content or relative play frequency of the audiovisual content.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the data categories relates to commercial success of the audiovisual content.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein a graphical attribute of the portion of the thumbnail image corresponding to the commercial success data category is selected to convey relative commercial success of the audiovisual content relative to other items of audiovisual content.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein a graphical attribute of the portion of the thumbnail image corresponding to the community interest data category is selected to convey relative community interest in the audiovisual content relative to other items of audiovisual content.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein a community of users of audiovisual content is formed and one of the data categories relates to community interest in the audiovisual content.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the data categories relates to genre of the audiovisual content and the corresponding portion of the thumbnail image is a graphic that represents the genre of the audiovisual content.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the data categories relates to dominant musical instrument used in the audiovisual content and the corresponding portion of the thumbnail image is a graphic that represents the dominant musical instrument.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the audiovisual content is a song and the method further includes visually representing a tempo of the song by pulsing at least a portion of the thumbnail image at a rate commensurate with a beat rate value associated with the song.