INDIVIDUAL SONG LIBRARIES AND PERSONALIZED CHANNELS IN BROADCAST SATELLITE SYSTEMS
Systems and methods to facilitate recording of individual tracks by a user of a broadcast music service, and the provision of user-specific personalized channels, based on such recordings, are presented. Such systems and methods include (i) recording of a song or audio clip from the broadcast for future playback (referred to as the “Love” functionality), and (ii) providing a shuffled playlist of songs for that user based on a mix of (a) “Loved” songs from a user's song library and (b) favorite artist songs speculatively recorded by the system or device over time in the background based on the user's selections of favorite artists. Such a user-specific playlist can be referred to as “My Channel” functionality.
1 . A method of providing user-specific content on a device, comprising:
receiving an audio broadcast or content stream on a user device, the broadcast or content stream comprising multiple tracks;
receiving a signal identifying at least one of said tracks for storage;
storing the track in a library in non-volatile memory; and
providing a user with the ability to play back the track on demand.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said tracks include individual songs, larger programs, events, and concerts, and wherein said individual songs are stored in a song library, and all other tracks are stored in a program library.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein each of the song library and the program library can be stored in one of host memory and module memory.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said providing the user with playback ability includes at least one of playing library contents in some randomized or fixed order, and offering full playlisting and navigation of library content so that a user can control playback order.
5 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising providing a user the ability to manage the contents of the song library and program library.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user is provided the ability to play back the track via an interactive user interface.
7 . A method of providing user-specific content on a device, comprising:
receiving an audio broadcast or content stream on a user device, the broadcast or content stream comprising multiple tracks;
receiving a signal identifying at least one of said tracks for storage;
storing the track in a library in non-volatile memory; and
creating a randomized playlist that mixes said stored tracks from the library with additional tracks speculatively recorded by the user device;
making available the randomized playlist to a user as a personalized channel.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein said speculatively recorded tracks comprise a mix of songs all by artists that a user has previously indicated as a favorite artist.
9 . The method of claim 7 , where a user can choose, via a user interface, to deselect an artist or song from inclusion in the personal channel.
10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein said speculatively recorded tracks are chosen using a program suggestion algorithm.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein said program suggestion algorithm chooses songs and artists based on a user's preferences or inferred preferences.
12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein said program suggestion algorithm utilizes a division of audio content into topics and subtopics.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said program suggestion algorithm seeks to maximize affinities as to at least one of topics and subtopics between said speculated recordings and tracks in the library.
14 . The method of claim 2 , wherein when the song library is full, a user is notified to delete songs.
15 . The method of claim 2 , wherein when the song library is full, and a user identifies a new track for storage, an existing song is automatically deleted to make room for the new track.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein said existing song is chosen on at least one of a FIFO basis and a ranking based on user preferences.
17 . The method of claim 2 , wherein if a signal is received to record a track that has already been recorded in the Library, the receiver can replace the old recording with the new, thus reducing the aging of that song to the present.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said signal identifying at least one of said tracks for storage can be generated by at least one of a user, a receiver resident algorithm, and metadata received from a content provider.