Content provision system, content provision method, and program

Abstract

To easier provide a content and a comment on it.SOLUTION: The present invention provides a content provision system comprising a control part in which a script formed by at least text information in regard to identification information of a content and an advertisement is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to enable a browsing by a user; in accordance with the script selected by the user, a reading of a content indicated by content identification information contained in their script is controlled so that the content is executed and provided to the user by utilizing the rights that the user has already acquired via a contract with a specific service; and the text information contained in the script is formed by a voice synthesis, and is provided to the user at least either before or after a provision of the content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present technology relates to a content providing system, a content providing method, and a program, and in particular to a content providing system, a content providing method, and a program that enable content and comments thereon to be provided more easily. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the diversification of methods for providing content, various services and devices have been provided (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a device that automatically selects a stream to be played back based on sequence information that controls the playback order of the streams and outputs the selected stream to a television monitor. This device combines the stream with a character string to be output according to the sequence information and outputs the combined stream.

[0004] Patent document 2 discloses a program that sequentially extracts elements from hypertext downloaded based on an address extracted from a program list, and if there is text, synthesizes the text to produce speech, and if there is a link, extracts the material at the link destination and outputs the material corresponding to that material, repeating this process. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2004 / 073309 [Patent Document 2] JP 2002-342206 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, when providing content together with comments on the content, it is desired to provide the content and the comments more easily.

[0007] The present technology has been developed in light of these circumstances, and makes it easier to provide content and comments on it. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A content provision system according to one aspect of the present technology has at least a script consisting of content identification information and text information related to advertisements stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user, and controls the reading of content indicated by the content identification information included in the script in accordance with a script selected by the user, utilizing a right that the user has already acquired by contracting with a specific service, and providing the content to the user, and also includes a control unit that controls the text information included in the script to be synthesized into voice and provided to the user at least either before or after the content is provided.

[0009] A content provision method according to one aspect of the present technology is a content provision method in which a script consisting of at least content identification information and text information related to an advertisement is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user, and in accordance with a script selected by a user, the method controls the reading of content indicated by the content identification information contained in the script by utilizing a right that the user has already acquired by contracting with a specific service, and provides the content to the user, and controls the text information contained in the script to be synthesized into voice and provided to the user at least either before or after providing the content.

[0010] A program according to one aspect of the present technology is a program for causing a computer to function as a control unit that controls a script, which is at least a script consisting of content identification information and text information related to advertisements, stored in a specified storage medium so as to be viewable by a user, to read content indicated by the content identification information contained in the script in accordance with a script selected by the user, utilizing rights that the user has already acquired by contracting with a specific service, and to provide the content to the user, and that controls the text information contained in the script to be synthesized into voice and provided to the user at least either before or after the content is provided.

[0011] In a content provision system, a content provision method, and a program according to one aspect of the present technology, a script consisting of at least content identification information and text information related to advertisements is stored in a specified storage medium so as to be viewable by a user, and the system is controlled so that, in accordance with a script selected by a user, the content indicated by the content identification information contained in the script is read out using a right that the user has already acquired by contracting with a specific service, and the content is provided to the user, and the system is also controlled so that the text information contained in the script is synthesized into voice and provided to the user at least either before or after the content is provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a representative diagram showing an overview of the present technology. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a content providing system to which the present technology is applied. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram showing a flow of content playback by a content providing system to which the present technology is applied. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of rights processing when distributing content including music. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of rights processing when performing VPC type distribution. [Figure 6]1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a content providing system to which the present technology is applied. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a script used in the content providing system. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an embodiment of a content providing system to which the present technology is applied. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a creator terminal device. [Figure 10] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a control unit in a creator terminal device. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a user terminal device. [Figure 12] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a control unit in a user terminal device. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a distribution server. [Figure 14] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a control unit in the distribution server. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow when using voice synthesis to provide a musical piece that has been made into a program along with an introduction and an end of the musical piece. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first example of a user interface of a program creation tool. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a program script generated by a program creation tool. [Figure 18] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of a user interface of the program creation tool. [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of a user interface of the program creation tool. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of a user interface of the program creation tool. [Figure 21] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of a user interface of the program creation tool. [Figure 22] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of a user interface of the program creation tool. [Diagram 23]FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of a user interface of the program creation tool. [Figure 24] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow for playing back a program of songs as a playlist in a case where the introduction and conclusion of a song can be provided using voice synthesis. [Diagram 25] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow when using live voices to provide a musical piece that has been made into a program along with an introduction and an end of the musical piece. [Figure 26] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow for playing back a program of songs as a playlist in a case where the introduction and conclusion of a song can be provided using live vocals. [Figure 27] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 28] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 29] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow when a script is provided to another music distribution service. [Diagram 30] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process according to the second embodiment. [Diagram 31] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process according to the second embodiment. [Diagram 32] 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of the functional configuration of the control unit in the distribution server. [Diagram 33] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow when checking a sentence. [Diagram 34] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process according to a third embodiment. [Diagram 35] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of another configuration of an embodiment of a content providing system to which the present technology is applied. [Diagram 36] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an advertisement inserted in a program. [Figure 37] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow when an advertisement is inserted into a program. [Figure 38]13 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 39] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of another configuration of an embodiment of a content providing system to which the present technology is applied. [Diagram 40] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow when music IDs are managed and program information is shared. [Diagram 41] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process according to a modified example. [Diagram 42] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present technology will be described with reference to the drawings. The description will be given in the following order.

[0014] 1. First embodiment: Basic configuration 2. Second embodiment: Linkage function with other services 3. Third embodiment: Minimum license functionality 4. Fourth embodiment: Advertising function 5. Variations 6. Computer Configuration

[0015] <Representative image>

[0016] FIG. 1 is a representative diagram showing an overview of this technology.

[0017] This technology makes it easier to provide content and its comments by utilizing user service contracts and text-to-speech synthesis to provide comments about the content along with the content when it is made into a program.

[0018] In Fig. 1, the DJ distributes the music he selected from a music distribution server and uses a microphone to send comments about the music. At the same time, the user listens to the music selected by the DJ and the comments sent by the DJ, which are distributed from the music distribution server.

[0019] Here, the DJ is considered to be a virtual character created by a creator, but the songs selected by the DJ are provided to the user using a music distribution service to which the user already has a subscription, and the comments made by the DJ are provided to the user via text-to-speech synthesis, making it easier to provide content and its comments.

[0020] <1. First embodiment>

[0021] (Virtual podcast system overview) Fig. 2 shows an overview of a content providing system to which the present technology is applied. In the example of Fig. 2, a virtual podcast system is illustrated as an embodiment of the content providing system to which the present technology is applied.

[0022] The virtual podcast system is a system that allows creators to create podcast programs simply by operating their own terminal device, selecting music and writing text. Podcasts are a method of publishing audio and video data files on the Internet, and are a type of Internet radio or Internet television. Note that text is not limited to being provided as text, and can be provided as an audio file.

[0023] A podcast program created by a creator is registered in a distribution server, whereby a user can listen to the podcast program by operating his / her own terminal device and playing the program distributed from the distribution server.

[0024] Meanwhile, creators who distribute podcast programs will want to distribute the podcast programs they create efficiently so that more users can view them.

[0025] Furthermore, when music is distributed as a podcast, the creator must process the copyright of the music, which is a hassle for the creator, and therefore they will likely want someone else to process the copyright of the music on their behalf.

[0026] In recent years, creators have been opening their own video distribution channels on video distribution sites and disseminating information through video content on a variety of themes. In return for providing users with video content, creators receive compensation in the form of advertising revenue based on the number of times the video is played, as well as advertising revenue from producing videos in collaboration with advertisers.

[0027] For podcast creators, compensation for the podcasts they create is an extremely important concern, and they will want to be fairly compensated.

[0028] The above-mentioned programming, distribution copyright processing, and monetization are unavoidable issues for creators who distribute podcast programs, and a mechanism for easily resolving these issues is required.The virtual podcast system provides a mechanism for creators to create and distribute podcast programs and enable users to listen to the podcast programs, while also meeting the creators' requests for programming, distribution copyright processing, and monetization.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows the playback flow of a podcast program generated by the virtual podcast system.

[0030] FIG. 3 shows the Nth and N+1th tracks that are consecutive in time among the tracks included in a podcast program.

[0031] Each track consists of a warm-up, a song, and an after-song.

[0032] The introduction is an introduction to the song, and is made up of text (sentences). In this example, the introduction is written as "This song was written by..., it's such a great song!". The text corresponding to this introduction can be converted to voice and read aloud by TTS (Text To Speech).

[0033] A song includes an ID for identifying the song, and information about the song's title and artist. For example, by using a song ID of "1234567," a user can request a streaming service to which the user has a subscription to receive the song identified by the song ID.

[0034] The postscript is a postscript after listening to the song, and is composed of text (a sentence). In this example, the text "It was the best after all..." is written as the postscript. The text corresponding to this postscript can be read aloud using TTS.

[0035] When distributing a podcast program, the following two cases are assumed for the rights processing required to include music in the program.

[0036] First, there is the case of distributing a program that includes music. In this case, as shown in Figure 4, a creator creates a podcast program that is a complete package including music and speech (introduction and conclusion), and the podcast program is distributed, so copyright processing for the music occurs with the creator who distributes it.

[0037] The second is the case of VPC type distribution. In this case, as shown in Figure 5, the music is distributed using a music distribution service, and the creator only creates and distributes the talk (introduction and conclusion), so the creator does not need to handle the copyright of the music.

[0038] In other words, when a creator distributes a podcast program, the creator distributes the configuration data, introduction, and conclusion of the program. As a result, the music portion of the program is distributed by a music distribution service, so the creator does not have to handle the copyright of the music.

[0039] In VPC-type distribution, the music streamed by the music distribution service and the speech (introduction and conclusion) distributed by the creator are combined into a program on the user terminal device used by the user, and the rights processing for the music portion of the podcast program that has been turned into a program on the user terminal device is handled by the user.

[0040] In this way, with VPC-type distribution, when distributing a podcast, the creator does not create a complete packaged podcast program, but instead distributes song identification information (song ID), so that the song streamed by the music distribution service can be played on the user terminal device used by the user based on that song ID.

[0041] In other words, since the music is played on the user terminal device using the rights that the user has already acquired through a contract with the music distribution service, no copyright processing of the music occurs for the creator. On the other hand, the user can also play music within the normal music distribution range of the music distribution service to which the user has subscribed, so that the user can play the music identified by the music ID specified by the creator without paying any additional fees. In the virtual podcast system, podcast programs are distributed by this VPC (Virtual Podcast) type distribution.

[0042] In addition, the user's contract with the music distribution service can be a paid user contract (premium user) or a free user contract (free user), and the right can be utilized as long as the music can be played only with the insertion of advertisements.

[0043] FIG. 6 shows an example of the overall configuration of a virtual podcast system.

[0044] As shown in Figure 6, the functions provided by this virtual podcast system can be broadly divided into creator-side functions provided by a creator terminal device, various distribution service-side functions provided by a distribution server, and user-side functions provided by a user terminal device.

[0045] In the creator terminal device, a program creation tool and an audio creation tool are executed in response to operations by the creator (PodCaster), and a podcast program is generated.

[0046] For example, the program creation tool generates a podcast program based on the song ID of a song selected from a song selection list (catalog) provided by the music distribution service and the introductory and post-narrative text of the song for which sound adjustments have been made during voice synthesis by the voice creation tool, and registers the program with the program distribution service.

[0047] The voice creation tool provides a function for adjusting the sound of the TTS based on the data for voice creation provided by the voice distribution service. Creators can use the voice creation tool to adjust the sound of the TTS to suit their own preferences.

[0048] The program distribution service provides a service of distributing podcast programs registered by a program creation tool to user terminal devices.

[0049] The music distribution service corresponds to a music distribution service to which a user who uses a user terminal device has a contract (subscription). In response to a request from the user terminal device, the music distribution service distributes music identified by a music ID set in a podcast program. The music distribution service also provides a music list for selection to the creator terminal device.

[0050] The audio distribution service provides a service of distributing TTS voice obtained by synthesizing the introductory and post-narrative texts of songs set in podcast programs to user terminal devices, and also provides data for creating voice to creator terminal devices.

[0051] In the user terminal device, the program renderer is executed in response to an operation by a user (listener), and the podcast program is played back.

[0052] When playing a desired program from among the podcast programs made available by the program distribution service, the program renderer renders the music distributed from the music distribution service and the TTS voice distributed from the voice distribution service based on configuration data (reproduction data) regarding the composition of the program.

[0053] In this way, the podcast program is played back (reproduced) and can be viewed by the user. Note that the program renderer executed on the user terminal device can also be considered as a playback player.

[0054] Figure 7 shows an example of a script that describes the structure of a podcast program.

[0055] As shown in Fig. 7, in the virtual podcast system, a podcast program is composed of multiple sets of song IDs of songs to be made into a program and introductory and postscripts of those songs. The composition of this podcast program is described by the script shown in Fig. 7.

[0056] In FIG. 7, the script begins with information about the program, such as the program title, owner, release date, and name of the service that distributes the music.

[0057] In the script, information about the program is described, followed by information about the track. Figure 7 shows an example of the description of the first track out of N tracks.

[0058] In the track, information regarding the target track number (Number), warm-up, song, and after-song is written.

[0059] A song (song) contains an identification (id) for identifying the song, as well as information about the song's title and artist name, etc. For example, by describing a song ID of "1234567", a request can be made to a music distribution service called "serviceA" to distribute the song identified by that song ID.

[0060] The warm-up and after-song sections contain comment information that corresponds to comments about the song. For example, the warm-up section can contain text such as "This song was written because... It's such a great song!", and the after-song section can contain text such as "It's the best after all...", and these texts can be converted into voice and read aloud using a TTS service.

[0061] In FIG. 7, only the first track is described, i.e., an example of description of information about the first song is shown, but for the second and subsequent songs, similar to the first song, each song will be described in a set of song ID, introduction and conclusion.

[0062] In this way, a script consisting of the song ID of the song and an introduction and conclusion regarding the song is generated by the creator terminal device used by the creator, and is made available to users by being registered in the program distribution service.

[0063] Meanwhile, in the user terminal device used by the user, in accordance with the script published by the program distribution service, the song indicated by the song ID is controlled to be streamed using the rights that the user has already acquired by contracting with the music distribution service, and the preface and postface TTS voices are controlled to be provided.

[0064] In other words, the script only contains the song ID and the introduction and conclusion of the song in text form, and does not contain the actual song and audio data to be played in the podcast program, but on the user terminal device, the song and audio data are played based on the information indicated by the song ID and introduction and conclusion written in the script, thereby recreating the program created by the creator.

[0065] In addition, it is possible to turn a playlist into a program by generating a script with introductory and postscripts for songs (or their song IDs) in an existing playlist, so that the user can easily turn a playlist into a program by simply inputting the introductory and postscripts for the songs.

[0066] (System Configuration) FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a virtual podcast system as an example of the configuration of an embodiment of a content providing system to which the present technology is applied.

[0067] In FIG. 8, the content providing system 1 includes a creator terminal device 10, a user terminal device 20, a program distribution server 30A, a music distribution server 30B, and an audio distribution server 30C.

[0068] In the content providing system 1, a creator terminal device 10, a user terminal device 20, a program distribution server 30A, a music distribution server 30B, and an audio distribution server 30C are connected to each other via a network 50.

[0069] The creator terminal device 10 is a device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer, and is used by a creator.

[0070] The creator terminal device 10 generates a script for a podcast program in response to an operation by the creator, and transmits (uploads) the script to the program distribution server 30A via the network 50.

[0071] The user terminal device 20 is a device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a music player, a game machine, or a personal computer, and is used by a user.

[0072] In response to a user's operation, the user terminal device 20 accesses the program distribution server 30A via the network 50 and receives (downloads) the script of the podcast program.

[0073] The program distribution server 30A is composed of one or more servers that provide a program distribution service. The program distribution service is a service for distributing podcast programs, and is provided by a program distribution business operator.

[0074] The program distribution server 30A receives a program script transmitted (uploaded) from the creator terminal device 10 via the network 50, and registers the script in a storage medium so that the user using the user terminal device 20 can view it.

[0075] When the program distribution server 30A receives a program playback request transmitted from a user terminal device 20 via the network 50, it reads the script of the program from the storage medium and distributes it to the user terminal device 20 that has made the playback request.

[0076] The music distribution server 30B is composed of one or more servers that provide a music distribution service. The music distribution service is a service that distributes music via the Internet and is provided by a music distribution company. For example, the music distribution service is provided in the form of a flat-rate all-you-can-listen streaming service.

[0077] When the music distribution server 30B receives a music distribution request transmitted from a user terminal device 20 via the network 50, it identifies the music corresponding to the received distribution request and distributes the streaming data of the music to the user terminal device 20 that originated the distribution request.

[0078] The voice distribution server 30C is composed of one or more servers that provide a voice distribution service. The voice distribution service is a service that distributes voices such as TTS voices and live voices via the Internet, and is provided by a voice distribution company.

[0079] When the voice distribution server 30C receives a voice distribution request transmitted from a user terminal device 20 via the network 50, it acquires the voice corresponding to the received distribution request and distributes the voice data to the user terminal device 20 that originated the distribution request.

[0080] In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between program distribution server 30A, music distribution server 30B, and audio distribution server 30C, they will be referred to as distribution server 30. Also, the program distribution provider, music distribution provider, and audio distribution provider may be the same provider or different providers.

[0081] The network 50 includes a communication network such as the Internet, an intranet, or a mobile phone network, and enables interconnection between devices using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol).

[0082] (Configuration of creator terminal device) FIG. 9 shows an example of the configuration of the creator terminal device 10 of FIG.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 9, in the creator terminal device 10, a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a read only memory (ROM) 102, and a random access memory (RAM) 103 are interconnected by a bus 104.

[0084] The CPU 101 executes programs stored in the ROM 102 or storage unit 107 to control the operation of each unit of the creator terminal device 10. The RAM 103 stores various types of data as appropriate.

[0085] An input / output I / F 110 is also connected to the bus 104. An input unit 105, an output unit 106, a storage unit 107, a communication unit 108, and a short-range wireless communication unit 109 are connected to the input / output I / F 110.

[0086] The input unit 105 supplies various types of input data to each unit including the CPU 101 via an input / output I / F 110. For example, the input unit 105 includes an operation unit 111, a camera unit 112, and a sensor unit 113.

[0087] The operation unit 111 is operated by the creator, and supplies operation data corresponding to the operation to the CPU 101. The operation unit 111 is composed of physical buttons, a touch panel, and the like.

[0088] The camera unit 112 photoelectrically converts the light from the subject incident thereon, and generates and outputs captured image data by performing signal processing on the resulting electrical signal. The camera unit 112 is composed of an image sensor, a signal processing unit, etc.

[0089] The sensor unit 113 senses spatial information, time information, and the like, and outputs sensor data obtained as a result of the sensing.

[0090] The sensor unit 113 includes an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, etc. The acceleration sensor measures acceleration in three directions of the X, Y and Z axes. The gyro sensor measures angular velocity in three axes of the X, Y and Z axes. Note that an inertial measurement unit (IMU) may be provided to measure three-dimensional acceleration and angular velocity using a three-directional accelerometer and a three-axis gyroscope.

[0091] In addition, the sensor unit 113 may include various sensors such as a sound sensor (microphone) that detects sounds such as the creator's voice, a biosensor that measures information such as a living organism's heart rate, body temperature, or posture, a proximity sensor that measures objects in the vicinity, and a magnetic sensor that measures the magnitude and direction of a magnetic field.

[0092] The output unit 106 outputs various types of information under control of the CPU 101 via the input / output I / F 110. For example, the output unit 106 includes a display unit 121 and a sound output unit 122.

[0093] The display unit 121 displays an image corresponding to image data under the control of the CPU 101. The display unit 121 includes a panel unit such as a liquid crystal panel or an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) panel, a signal processing unit, and the like.

[0094] The sound output unit 122 outputs sound corresponding to the sound data under the control of the CPU 101. The sound output unit 122 is composed of a speaker, headphones connected to an output terminal, or the like.

[0095] The storage unit 107 records various data and programs under the control of the CPU 101. The CPU 101 reads out various data from the storage unit 107 and processes the data, and executes the programs.

[0096] The storage unit 107 is configured as an auxiliary storage device such as a semiconductor memory, etc. The storage unit 107 may be configured as an internal storage, or may be an external storage such as a memory card.

[0097] The communication unit 108 communicates with other devices via the network 50 under the control of the CPU 101. The communication unit 108 is configured as a communication module compatible with cellular communication (e.g., LTE-Advanced, 5G, etc.), wireless communication such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), or wired communication.

[0098] A short-range wireless communication unit 109 performs wireless communication according to a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or NFC (Near Field Communication), and exchanges various types of data.

[0099] The configuration of the creator terminal device 10 shown in FIG. 9 is just an example, and for example, a microphone may be provided as an input unit, an image processing circuit such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a power supply circuit, and the like may also be provided.

[0100] 10 shows an example of the functional configuration of the control unit 100 in the creator terminal device 10. The functions of the control unit 100 are realized by the CPU 101 executing programs such as a program creation tool and an audio creation tool.

[0101] 10, the control unit 100 has an input receiving unit 151, a music information acquiring unit 152, a program generating unit 153, an audio information acquiring unit 154, an audio generating unit 155, and a registration unit 156.

[0102] The input receiving unit 151 receives operation data supplied from the input unit 105 in response to an operation by the creator, and supplies the operation data to a program generating unit 153 .

[0103] The music information acquisition unit 152 acquires music information related to music supplied from the communication unit 108 that communicates with the music distribution server 30B, and supplies the information to the program production unit 153. The music information includes information such as the music list and music IDs received from the music distribution server 30B.

[0104] The program generation unit 153 processes the music information supplied from the music information acquisition unit 152 and comment information regarding the introduction and conclusion based on the operation data supplied from the input reception unit 151, to generate a script for the podcast program and supply it to the registration unit 156.

[0105] The audio information acquisition unit 154 acquires audio information relating to the preface and postface audio supplied from the communication unit 108, which communicates with the audio distribution server 30C, and supplies the information to the audio generation unit 155. The audio information includes information about the audio at the time of audio synthesis or audio creation received from the audio distribution server 30C.

[0106] The audio generation unit 155 processes the audio information supplied from the audio information acquisition unit 154 to generate audio for the creator to set the introductory and post-narration, and supplies this to the program generation unit 153.

[0107] When generating a podcast program, the program generation unit 153 uses the audio supplied from the audio generation unit 155 and provides the creator with information regarding the settings for the introduction and conclusion (such as the audio used during audio synthesis) to generate a script for the program and supplies it to the registration unit 156.

[0108] The registration unit 156 controls the communication unit 108 to upload the program script supplied from the program production unit 153 to the program distribution server 30A via the network 50, thereby registering the program script.

[0109] (Configuration of user terminal device) FIG. 11 shows an example of the configuration of the user terminal device 20 of FIG.

[0110] In Fig. 11, the configuration of the user terminal device 20 corresponds to the configuration of the creator terminal device 10 shown in Fig. 9. That is, the components from the CPU 201 to the short-range wireless communication unit 209 have the same functions as those from the CPU 101 to the short-range wireless communication unit 109 described above, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted here.

[0111] 12 shows an example of the functional configuration of the control unit 200 in the user terminal device 20. The functions of the control unit 200 are realized by the CPU 201 executing a program renderer or the like.

[0112] 12, the control unit 200 includes a program acquisition unit 251, a music acquisition unit 252, an audio acquisition unit 253, a renderer unit 254, and a presentation control unit 255.

[0113] The program acquisition unit 251 acquires a script of a podcast program in response to a user operation, which is supplied from the communication unit 208 that communicates with the program distribution server 30A, and supplies the script to the renderer unit 254.

[0114] The music acquisition unit 252 acquires streaming data of a music piece corresponding to the music ID supplied from the communication unit 208 that communicates with the music distribution server 30B, and supplies the data to the renderer unit 254.

[0115] The audio acquisition unit 253 acquires audio data corresponding to the preceding and following explanations, which is supplied from the communication unit 208 that communicates with the audio distribution server 30C, and supplies the data to the renderer unit 254.

[0116] Based on the program script supplied from the program acquisition unit 251, the renderer unit 254 performs rendering processing on the pre-mentioned audio data supplied from the audio acquisition unit 253, the music streaming data supplied from the music acquisition unit 252, and the post-mentioned audio data supplied from the audio acquisition unit 253, and supplies the resulting data to the presentation control unit 255.

[0117] The presentation control unit 255 supplies the data provided from the rendering unit 254 to the output unit 206, thereby presenting the program to the user.

[0118] For example, the presentation control unit 255 can supply the introductory audio data, the streaming data of the song, and the concluding audio data to the sound output unit 222, thereby outputting and presenting the introductory and concluding audio set in the program together with the sound of the song that has been made into a program, before and after the song.

[0119] (Distribution server configuration) Fig. 13 shows an example of the configuration of the distribution server 30 in Fig. 8. The distribution server 30 corresponds to any one of the program distribution server 30A, the music distribution server 30B, and the audio distribution server 30C shown in Fig. 8.

[0120] In the distribution server 30, a CPU 301, a ROM 302, and a RAM 303 are connected to one another via a bus 304. An input / output I / F 310 is further connected to the bus 304. An input unit 305, an output unit 306, a storage unit 307, a communication unit 308, and a drive 309 are connected to the input / output I / F 310.

[0121] The input unit 305 includes a microphone, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. The output unit 306 includes a speaker, a display, etc.

[0122] The storage unit 307 is configured with a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a semiconductor memory, etc. The communication unit 308 is configured as a communication module compatible with wireless communication such as a wireless LAN, or wired communication such as Ethernet (registered trademark).

[0123] The drive 309 drives a removable recording medium 311 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory.

[0124] 14 shows an example of the functional configuration of the control unit 300 in the distribution server 30. The functions of the control unit 300 are realized by the CPU 301 executing the programs of each service.

[0125] In FIG. 14, the control unit 300 includes a request receiving and responding unit 351 , a distribution processing unit 352 , and a database 353 .

[0126] The request reception / response unit 351 receives various requests supplied from the communication unit 308 that communicates with the creator terminal device 10 or the user terminal device 20 , and supplies the requests to a distribution processing unit 352 .

[0127] The distribution processing unit 352 performs distribution processing in response to various requests supplied from the request receiving and responding unit 351.

[0128] The database 353 is recorded in a storage unit 307 that is a large-capacity storage such as a HDD or semiconductor memory.

[0129] For example, database 353 of program distribution server 30A stores scripts of podcast programs, etc. Also, database 353 of music distribution server 30B stores songs provided by a music distribution service in association with music IDs. Furthermore, database 353 of audio distribution server 30C stores information related to audio during voice synthesis and voice creation, audio data for introductions and conclusions, etc.

[0130] When performing distribution processing, the distribution processing unit 352 processes various data stored in the database 353 , generates responses according to various requests, and supplies the responses to the request acceptance and response unit 351 .

[0131] The request receiving and responding unit 351 controls the communication unit 308 to transmit responses corresponding to various requests supplied from the distribution processing unit 352 to the creator terminal device 10 or user terminal device 20 that originated the request via the network 50.

[0132] Next, the flow of processing executed by each device in the content providing system 1 will be described.

[0133] (First example) FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow in which voice synthesis is used to provide a musical piece that has been made into a program along with an introduction and an end of that musical piece.

[0134] 15, the program creation tool is executed by a creator terminal device 10, and the program renderer is executed by a user terminal device 20. Also in Fig. 15, the program distribution service is provided by a program distribution server 30A, the music distribution service is provided by a music distribution server 30B, and the TTS service is provided by a voice distribution server 30C.

[0135] In the creator terminal device 10, the control unit 100 executes the program creation tool, and the processes of steps S11 to S13 are carried out.

[0136] The program creation tool acquires the song list transmitted from the song distribution server 30B and presents it to the creator (S11).

[0137] The program creation tool generates a script for the podcast program based on the song ID of the song selected by the creator from the song list and the introductory and post-narrative text of the song entered by the creator (S12), and registers it on the program distribution server 30A (S13).

[0138] As a result, in the program distribution server 30A, the script of the podcast program created by the creator is stored in the database 353, and is made viewable by the user using the user terminal device 20.

[0139] In the user terminal device 20, the control unit 200 executes a program renderer, and the program renderer operates in cooperation with each distribution server 30 to execute the processes of steps S14 to S25.

[0140] When a user instructs the program renderer to play a podcast program that is publicly available for viewing on the program distribution server 30A, the program renderer receives a script of the program distributed from the program distribution server 30A (S14, S15).

[0141] Based on the introduction set at the beginning of the received script, the program renderer requests the audio distribution server 30C to perform voice synthesis of the text of the introduction (S16).

[0142] In response to a request from the program renderer, voice distribution server 30C performs voice synthesis on the introductory text (S17), and distributes the result of the voice synthesis (S18).

[0143] As a result, the program renderer receives the results of the voice synthesis distributed from the voice distribution server 30C and performs rendering processing to play back the TTS voice of the introductory part set in the music program.

[0144] Next, based on the song ID set following the introduction of the received script, the program renderer requests the song distribution server 30B, which provides the music distribution service to which the user has subscribed, to distribute the song identified by the song ID (S19).

[0145] In response to a request from the program renderer, the music distribution server 30B checks the rights that the user has acquired through a contract with the music distribution service (S20), and if it determines that the user has legitimate rights and is able to play the music identified by the music ID, it streams the music (S21).

[0146] As a result, the program renderer receives the streaming data of the music distributed from the music distribution server 30B and performs rendering processing, thereby playing the music identified by the music ID as a programed music.

[0147] Thereafter, when playback of the streaming music is completed, the program renderer requests the audio distribution server 30C to perform voice synthesis of the text of the postscript based on the postscript set next to the music ID of the received script (S22).

[0148] In response to a request from the program renderer, voice distribution server 30C performs voice synthesis of the text described below (S23), and distributes the result of the voice synthesis (S24).

[0149] As a result, the program renderer receives the results of the voice synthesis distributed from the voice distribution server 30C and performs rendering processing to play the TTS voice for the postscript portion set in the music that has been made into a program.

[0150] In addition, since the podcast program script includes the song IDs of multiple songs along with the introductory and post-introductory text for each song, after steps S16 to S24 are completed, the process returns to step S16 (S25), and steps S16 to S25 are repeated according to the number of song IDs.

[0151] As a result, the program renderer repeatedly plays back the introduction, the song, and the conclusion in this order for each song ID set in the script, allowing the user to listen to the podcast program.

[0152] The above describes the flow of the processes executed by each device when using voice synthesis to provide a musical piece that has been made into a program along with an introduction and post-note for that piece.

[0153] (Example of a program creation tool UI) The program creation tool executed by the creator terminal device 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0154] FIG. 16 shows a first example of a user interface (UI) of a program creation tool.

[0155] In FIG. 16, a program creation screen 410 is a screen that is displayed when the program creation tool is executed, and is a UI for creating a podcast program in response to operations by the creator.

[0156] The program creation screen 410 has an operation area 411 , a title setting area 412 , an opening talk setting area 413 , a set music / introduction / post-show area 414 , and a music / introduction / post-show setting area 415 .

[0157] The operation area 411 is an area for operating and listening to music set in a program. The operation area 411 includes a button for playing or stopping music, a button for selecting the previous music and the next music, a seek bar showing the position of the music being played, and the like.

[0158] The title setting area 412 is an area for setting the title of the program.

[0159] The opening talk setting area 413 is an area for setting an opening talk. For example, an opening talk audio file is set in the opening talk setting area 413, but if an opening talk is not necessary, it does not necessarily have to be set.

[0160] The set music piece / introduction and post-show area 414 is an area where the set music piece and the introduction and post-show of the music piece are displayed.

[0161] For example, in the set music / introduction / post-explanation area 414-1, for the music "Song1", an introductory section called "Speech File1" and a post-explanation section called "Speech File2" are set. Also, in the set music / introduction / post-explanation area 414-2, for the music "Song2", an introductory section called "Speech File3" and a post-explanation section called "Speech File4" are set.

[0162] The music piece / introduction and post-show setting area 415 is an area for setting a music piece and its introductory and post-show.

[0163] For example, the music / introduction / post-speech setting area 415 includes an add music button ("Add Music from Song Catalog") for selecting a desired music file from a music catalog, an add introduction button ("Add Speech File before") for setting a desired introduction, and an add post-speech button ("Add Speech File after") for setting a desired post-speech.

[0164] The introduction and conclusion may be set as a text file in response to the creator's input operation, or may be set as an audio file in response to the creator's voice input, for example.

[0165] The creator operates this program creation screen 410 to create, for example, a script for a program as shown in FIG.

[0166] In Figure 17, the podcast program is arranged so that an opening talk ("Opening Talk File") is followed by the introductory remarks for the first song ("Speech File 1"), the first musical piece ("Song 1"), and the post-speech for the first song ("Speech File 2") in that order, and then the introductory remarks for the second song ("Speech File 3"), the second musical piece ("Song 2"), and the post-speech for the second song ("Speech File 4") are played in that order.

[0167] Incidentally, this program creation tool may be provided as a function of an application (hereinafter, also referred to as a music distribution application) distributed by a music distribution service with which the creator has a contract. Figures 18 to 23 show examples of program creation tools provided as functions of a music distribution application executed by the creator terminal device 10.

[0168] 18, music playback screen 510 is a screen provided as a function of a music distribution application, and is a UI for playing music distributed by a music distribution service via a network 50 such as the Internet. Music playback screen 510 has a music item area 511 to be played, and a music operation area 512.

[0169] The playback target song area 511 is an area for displaying the title, artist name, jacket image, etc. of the song to be played.

[0170] The music operation area 512 is an area for operating music. The music operation area 512 includes a button for playing or stopping a music piece, a button for selecting the previous music piece and the next music piece, a seek bar showing the position of the music piece being played, and the like.

[0171] When a creator performs a predetermined operation on the music playback screen 510, a playlist selection screen 520 shown in FIG. 19 is displayed.

[0172] 19, a playlist selection screen 520 is a screen provided as a function of the music distribution application, and is a UI for selecting a desired playlist. The playlist selection screen 520 has a playlist list area 521.

[0173] The playlist list area 521 is an area for displaying a list of playlists provided by a music distribution service, or playlists (public playlists) created by the creator himself or other users, and allowing selection.

[0174] When the playlist "70 SOUL" enclosed in a frame F1 in the figure is selected from among the playlists displayed in this playlist list area 521, a playlist editing screen 530 shown in FIG. 20 is displayed.

[0175] 20, a playlist editing screen 530 is a screen provided as a function of the music distribution application, and is a UI for editing a playlist to be selected. The playlist editing screen 530 has a song list area 531 and an add song button 532.

[0176] The song list area 531 is an area for displaying and selecting a list of songs registered in the playlist to be selected. The add song button 532 is a button that is operated when adding a new song to the playlist to be selected.

[0177] When a desired song surrounded by a frame F2 in the figure is selected from the songs displayed in this song list area 531 and the edit button 533 for the selected song is operated, a song / introduction / post-explanation editing screen 540A in Figure 21 or a song / introduction / post-explanation editing screen 540B in Figure 22 is displayed.

[0178] 21, a music / introduction / post-explanation editing screen 540A is a UI for editing the introduction and post-explanation of a selected music piece. The music / introduction / post-explanation editing screen 540A has an introduction description area 541A and a post-explanation description area 542A.

[0179] The introductory text area 541A is an area for writing introductory text for the selected piece of music.

[0180] For example, if the creator terminal device 10 is a device such as a smartphone having a touch panel, the creator can input a desired introduction as text by tapping a software keyboard displayed on the display unit 121 on which the touch panel is superimposed. Alternatively, if the creator terminal device 10 is capable of using a cloud-based voice recognition API (Application Programming Interface) service, the voice recognition service may be used to convert the voice input of the desired introduction by the creator into text.

[0181] Alternatively, if the creator terminal device 10 is a device such as a personal computer having a keyboard, the creator can operate the keyboard to input the desired preface comments.

[0182] The postscript description area 542A is an area for writing postscript text for the selected music piece. In the postscript description area 542A, a desired postscript text is input in response to the creator's operation of the software keyboard or voice input operation.

[0183] 22, a music / introduction / post-explanation editing screen 540B is a UI for editing the introduction and post-explanation of a selected music piece. The music / introduction / post-explanation editing screen 540B has an introduction description area 541B and a post-explanation description area 542B.

[0184] The introduction entry area 541B is an area for entering an introduction text for the selected piece of music. In the introduction entry area 541B, a desired introduction text is entered by the creator in response to an operation of the software keyboard or an operation of voice input.

[0185] The post-explanation description area 542B is an area for writing post-explanation text for the selected song. In the post-explanation description area 542B, a desired post-explanation text is input in response to the creator's operation of the software keyboard or voice input operation.

[0186] In this way, the creator can turn a playlist into a program by adding introductory and postscript text to each song in the playlist. Note that the above-mentioned song / introductory and postscript editing screens 540A and 540B are examples of UIs for setting introductory and postscript texts for songs, and introductory and postscript texts may be set using other UIs.

[0187] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 20, when a predetermined operation is performed by the creator on the playlist editing screen 530, a playlist setting screen 550 shown in FIG. 23 is displayed.

[0188] 23, a playlist setting screen 550 is a screen provided as a function of the music distribution application, and is a UI for making various settings related to a playlist organized into a program. The playlist setting screen 550 has a setting area 551.

[0189] The setting area 551 includes items for setting the change of the name of the playlist made into a program, the publication of the playlist made into a program, the deletion of the playlist made into a program, etc. When "Publish" surrounded by a frame F3 in the figure is tapped from among the items displayed in this setting area, the playlist made into a program is made public to other users.

[0190] As a result, the script of the playlist that has been made into a program, that is, the script of the program, is stored in the database 353 of the program distribution server 30A and can be viewed by the user of the user terminal device 20.

[0191] In this way, a program creation function can be added as one of the functions of a music distribution app provided by a music distribution service.

[0192] For example, as a premium user of a music distribution service, a creator can programatize a playlist, set an introduction and an end to each song, and publish the script of the programmized playlist. In this case, the song ID set in the script generated by the music distribution app is the ID of the song managed by the music distribution service with which the creator has a contract.

[0193] (Second example) FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow in playing back a program of music as a playlist in a case where the introduction and conclusion of a music piece can be provided using voice synthesis.

[0194] In Figure 24, the program creation tool and program renderer are executed on the terminal devices of the creator and user, respectively, and the program distribution service, music distribution service, and TTS service are provided by each distribution server, respectively, as in the first example described with reference to Figure 15.

[0195] In steps S31 to S33 in FIG. 24, similarly to steps S11 to S13 in FIG. 15, a program script is generated by a program creation tool and registered in the program distribution server 30A.

[0196] When a user instructs the program renderer to play a program that is publicly available for viewing on the program distribution server 30A, the program renderer receives the script of the program distributed from the program distribution server 30A (S34, S35). Here, it is assumed that the user instructs the program to be played as a playlist, for example.

[0197] The program renderer requests music distribution server 30B, which provides a music distribution service to which the user has subscribed, to distribute the music identified by the music ID set in the received script (S36).

[0198] In response to a request from the program renderer, the music distribution server 30B checks the rights that the user has acquired through a contract with the music distribution service (S37), and if it is determined that the user has legitimate rights and is able to play the music identified by the music ID, it streams the music (S38).

[0199] As a result, the program renderer receives the streaming data of the music distributed from the music distribution server 30B and performs rendering, thereby playing the music identified by the music ID.

[0200] Furthermore, since the program script lists the song IDs of multiple songs in the order in which they are to be played, after steps S36 to S38 are completed, processing returns to step S36 (S39), and steps S36 to S39 are repeated according to the number of song IDs.

[0201] As a result, the program renderer repeatedly plays back the songs in the order of the song IDs set in the script, allowing the user to listen to the songs being played back as a playlist.

[0202] In this way, when a request for playing back a playlist is received from a user, the music piece indicated by the music piece ID included in the script is read out and provided to the user according to the script selected by the user, without reading out the introduction and conclusion included in the script.

[0203] The above describes the flow of the process executed by each device when a program of songs is played back as a playlist in a case where the introduction and end of a song can be provided using voice synthesis.

[0204] (Third example) FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow in the case where live voices are used to provide a musical piece that has been made into a program along with an introduction and an end of that musical piece.

[0205] In Fig. 25, a program creation tool and a program renderer are executed on the terminal devices of the creator and the user, respectively, and a program distribution service and a music distribution service are provided by each distribution server, respectively, as in the first example described with reference to Fig. 15. On the other hand, in the third example of Fig. 25, unlike the first example shown in Fig. 15, a live voice distribution service is provided by voice distribution server 30C instead of a TTS service.

[0206] In steps S51 to S53 in FIG. 25, similarly to steps S11 to S13 in FIG. 15, a script for the podcast program is generated by a program creation tool and registered in the program distribution server 30A.

[0207] However, in the sequence diagram of Figure 25, the introduction and conclusion of the song are not included as text in the script, but are read out by the creator in his or her own voice, and therefore the audio data (file) is registered in the audio distribution server 30C (S54).

[0208] That is, in the script registered in the program distribution server 30A, a music ID that identifies the music piece is set, along with link information to live voice data of the introduction and conclusion.

[0209] In steps S55 and S56 of Figure 25, similar to steps S14 and S15 of Figure 15, when a command is issued to play a podcast program that is publicly available for viewing on the program distribution server 30A, the program renderer receives a script of the program distributed from the program distribution server 30A.

[0210] The program renderer accesses the audio distribution server 30C based on the link information for the introduction set at the beginning of the received script, and requests distribution of the live voice of the introduction (S57).

[0211] In response to a request from the program renderer, the audio distribution server 30C processes the live voice data of the introductory speech registered by the creator (S58), and distributes the live voice data (S59).

[0212] As a result, the program renderer receives the live voice data of the introductory speech distributed from the audio distribution server 30C and performs rendering to reproduce the live voice of the introductory speech set in the music program.

[0213] In steps S60 to S62 of FIG. 25, similar to steps S19 to S21 of FIG. 15, the program renderer plays the music streamed from the music distribution server 30B based on the music ID set following the introduction of the received script.

[0214] Thereafter, when playback of the streaming music is completed, the program renderer accesses the audio distribution server 30C based on the link information set next to the music ID in the received script, and requests live voice distribution of the latter part (S63).

[0215] In response to a request from the program renderer, the audio distribution server 30C processes the live voice data of the post-narration registered by the creator (S64), and distributes the live voice data (S65).

[0216] As a result, the program renderer receives the live voice data of the post-narration distributed from the audio distribution server 30C and performs rendering to reproduce the live voice of the post-narration part set in the music program.

[0217] In addition, since the script of the podcast program includes the song IDs of multiple songs along with link information for the live vocal introduction and conclusion of each song, after steps S57 to S65 are completed, the process returns to step S57 (S66), and steps S57 to S66 are repeated.

[0218] As a result, the program renderer repeatedly plays back the introduction, the song, and the conclusion in this order for each song ID set in the script, allowing the user to listen to the podcast program.

[0219] The above describes the flow of the processes executed by each device when using live voices to provide a musical piece that has been made into a program along with an introduction and an end of that musical piece.

[0220] (Example 4) FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow in playing back a program of music as a playlist in a case where the introduction and end of the music can be provided using live voice.

[0221] In Figure 26, the program creation tool and program renderer are executed on the terminal devices of the creator and user, respectively, and the program distribution service, music distribution service, and live voice distribution service are provided by each distribution server, respectively, which is similar to the third example described with reference to Figure 25.

[0222] In steps S71 to S74 of Figure 26, similar to steps S51 to S54 of Figure 25, the program script is registered in the program distribution server 30A by the program creation tool, and audio data (files) of the introductory and concluding remarks read in the creator's natural voice are registered in the audio distribution server 30C.

[0223] When a user instructs the program renderer to play a program that is publicly available for viewing on the program distribution server 30A, the program renderer receives the script of the program distributed from the program distribution server 30A (S75, S76). Here, it is assumed that the user instructs the program to be played as a playlist, for example.

[0224] The program renderer requests music distribution server 30B, which provides a music distribution service to which the user has subscribed, to distribute the music identified by the music ID set in the received script (S77).

[0225] In response to a request from the program renderer, the music distribution server 30B checks the rights that the user has acquired through a contract with the music distribution service (S78), and if it is determined that the user has legitimate rights and is able to play the music identified by the music ID, it streams the music (S79).

[0226] As a result, the program renderer receives the streaming data of the music distributed from the music distribution server 30B and performs rendering, thereby playing the music identified by the music ID.

[0227] Furthermore, since the program script lists the song IDs of multiple songs in the order in which they will be played, after steps S77 to S79 ​​are completed, processing returns to step S77 (S80), and steps S77 to S80 are repeated.

[0228] As a result, the program renderer repeatedly plays back the songs in the order of the song IDs set in the script, allowing the user to listen to the songs being played back as a playlist.

[0229] In this way, when a request for playing back a playlist is received from a user, the music piece indicated by the music piece ID included in the script is read out and provided to the user according to the script selected by the user, without reading out the introduction and conclusion included in the script.

[0230] The above describes the flow of the process executed by each device when a program of songs is played back as a playlist in a case where the introductory and post-narrative parts of the songs can be provided using live vocals.

[0231] (Overall processing) 27 and 28 are flowcharts illustrating an overall picture of the processing in the first embodiment.

[0232] The processing shown in Figures 27 and 28 is realized by cooperative operation of a creator terminal device 10 (its control unit 100), a user terminal device 20 (its control unit 200), and a distribution server 30 (its control unit 300) in a content provision system to which the present technology is applied.

[0233] That is, this process is executed by at least one of the control units 100, 200, and 300.

[0234] In the content providing system 1, as shown in FIG. 27, when there is input from a creator using the creator terminal device 10 ("Yes" in S211), a script consisting of content identification information and comment information corresponding to the introduction and conclusion of the content is generated based on the input (S212), and the script is stored in a specified storage medium so that it can be viewed by a user using the user terminal device 20 (S213).

[0235] Here, the content includes songs distributed by a music distribution service, and the identification information of the content includes a song ID that can identify the song. The introduction and the end comment are examples of comments on the content, and at least one of the introduction and the end comment may be set. For example, when making songs into a program, in addition to inserting an introduction or end comment for each song, a narration or the like may be inserted as an introduction, and then three songs may be played in succession, or four songs may be played in succession, and then impressions of the songs may be inserted as an end comment.

[0236] The comment information includes text representing the comment, or link information to the live voice of the creator. Note that the comment information will be described as corresponding to a comment on the content, but is not necessarily related to the content, and may correspond to a comment unrelated to the content. The predetermined storage medium may be, for example, the storage unit 307 (database 353) of the program distribution server 30A.

[0237] Furthermore, in the content providing system 1, as shown in FIG. 28, when a user using the user terminal device 20 makes a request to play a script stored in a specified storage medium ("Yes" in S231), first, a prologue is read out in accordance with the comment information contained in the script, and the script is provided to the user (S232).

[0238] Here, the predetermined storage medium may be, for example, (database 353 of) storage unit 307 of program distribution server 30A. The opening comment read out in accordance with the comment information of the script includes a voice such as TTS voice or a live voice.

[0239] Next, in the content providing system 1, the content indicated by the content identification information included in the script is read out using the rights that the user has already acquired by contracting with a specific service, and the content is provided to the user (S233).

[0240] Here, the content identification information includes a song ID that can identify a song, etc. Also, for example, the specific service is a music distribution service, and the rights that the user has already acquired include paid premium user rights, free user rights, etc.

[0241] Furthermore, in the content providing system 1, after providing the content, a follow-up is read out in accordance with the comment information included in the script, and is controlled to be provided to the user (S234).

[0242] Here, the postscript read out according to the comment information of the script includes voice such as TTS voice or live voice. The comment indicated by the comment information (text such as the prologue or postscript) may be converted (translated) into a foreign language and provided to the user. For example, when the system knows the user's profile and the user's native language, the comment may be converted into the native language and provided to the user as text, or the text may be synthesized by TTS and the synthesized voice result provided to the user.

[0243] As described above, when making content into a program, the content and the comments on the content are provided together by utilizing the user's contract with the service and text-to-speech synthesis, so that the content and the comments can be provided more easily.

[0244] <2. Second embodiment>

[0245] The business entity distributing the music program may not be the same as the business entity distributing the podcast program, but may be a different business entity. For example, a script of a program created on a specific music distribution app provided by a certain music distribution service may be provided to another music distribution service.

[0246] Specifically, the script of the created program is stored so that it can be referenced not only by the music distribution service that provides the specific music distribution app, but also by other music distribution services. At that time, in addition to identification information such as a song ID that can be recognized by the specific music distribution app, metadata that allows songs to be searched is also stored. For example, this metadata can include the song title, lyricist, composer, artist name, etc.

[0247] Then, in response to a playback request from a user terminal device 20 used by a user who has a contract with that other music distribution service, the other music distribution service uses information such as the song title contained in the metadata to identify a song from a database that it manages, and streams the identified song.

[0248] In addition, copyright processing related to the playback of the music is considered to have been resolved due to a contract between the user and the other music distribution service. In addition, a portion of the revenue from the playback of the music distributed from such other music distribution service may be returned to the music distribution service that provided the specific music distribution app, or a portion of the revenue may be returned to the creator.

[0249] The configuration of the content providing system 1 in the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted. The flow of processing executed by each device in the content providing system 1 will be described below.

[0250] (Processing flow when distribution providers are different) FIG. 29 is a sequence diagram illustrating the process flow when a script created using one music distribution service is provided to another music distribution service.

[0251] In the example of Figure 29, the program creation tool and program renderer are executed on the terminal devices of the creator and the user, respectively, and the program distribution service, music distribution service, and live voice distribution service are provided by each distribution server, respectively, which is similar to the third example described with reference to Figure 25.

[0252] 29, a music distribution server 30B-1 of company A providing music distribution service A and a music distribution server 30B-2 of company B providing music distribution service B are provided, and it is assumed that the program distribution server 30A is provided by company A. It is also assumed that a program renderer serving as a music distribution application provided by company B is executed on the user terminal device 20.

[0253] In steps S91 to S94 of Figure 29, similar to steps S51 to S54 of Figure 25, the program script is registered in Company A's program distribution server 30A by the program creation tool executed by the creator terminal device 10, and audio data (files) of the introductory and concluding remarks read in the creator's natural voice are registered in the audio distribution server 30C.

[0254] In the user terminal device 20, Company B's program renderer is executed, and when a user operates to instruct playback of a program that is made publicly available for viewing on Company A's program distribution server 30A, the script of the program distributed from Company A's program distribution server 30A is received (S95, S96).

[0255] This script contains metadata for searching the content in addition to the song ID for the songs that have been made into a program.

[0256] For example, metadata includes the song title, lyricist, composer, artist name, etc. More specifically, information specified in items such as "title" and "artist" in the script shown in Fig. 7 can be used as metadata.

[0257] Next, based on the received script, Company B's program renderer requests Company B's music distribution server 30B-2, which provides music distribution service B to which the user has subscribed, to distribute the music identified by the metadata (S97).

[0258] In response to a request from Company B's program renderer, the music distribution server 30B-2 checks the rights that the user has acquired through a contract with music distribution service B, and if it is determined that the user has legitimate rights, it identifies the music using metadata (S98).

[0259] The music distribution server 30B-2 searches for music distributed by music distribution service B using metadata, and if a song is identified by the metadata, the song is streamed to the user terminal device 20 (S99).

[0260] In this case, before providing the music, the program renderer of company B accesses the audio distribution server 30C based on the link information of the introduction set in the script, and reproduces the live voice of the introduction set in the programmized music (S101 to S102). Next, the program renderer of company B reproduces the music streamed from the music distribution server 30B-2 of company B.

[0261] After that, when playback of the streaming music is completed, Company B's program renderer accesses the audio distribution server 30C based on the post-talk link information set in the script, and plays back the live voice of the post-talk part set in the program music (S103 to S105).

[0262] It should be noted that by repeating the processing of steps S97 to S106, Company B's program renderer repeatedly plays the introduction, song, and conclusion in that order for each song ID set in the script, allowing the user to listen to the podcast program.

[0263] On the other hand, if the music distribution server 30B-2 of company B is unable to identify the music based on the metadata included in the request from the program renderer of company B in the process of step S98, for example, the following process is performed.

[0264] First, the music distribution server 30B-2 of company B responds to that effect to the program renderer of company B, and causes the playback of the music that could not be identified and its introduction and conclusion to be skipped. As a result, in the user terminal device 20, the program renderer of company B skips the target music, and starts playback of the next music (or the introduction of the next music).

[0265] Secondly, the music distribution server 30B-2 of Company B causes the music distribution server 30B-1 of Company A to distribute sample songs of songs corresponding to the metadata to the user terminal device 20. As a result, the program renderer of Company B plays back the sample songs distributed from the music distribution service A to which the user has not yet subscribed in the user terminal device 20.

[0266] In the example of Figure 29, a live voice is used to provide the introduction and post-commentary of a song along with the song that has been made into a program, but the introduction and post-commentary of a song may also be provided using voice synthesis.

[0267] (Overall processing) 30 and 31 are flowcharts illustrating an overall picture of the processing in the second embodiment.

[0268] The processing shown in Figures 30 and 31 is realized by cooperative operation of a creator terminal device 10 (its control unit 100), a user terminal device 20 (its control unit 200), and a distribution server 30 (its control unit 300) in a content provision system to which the present technology is applied.

[0269] In the content providing system 1, as shown in FIG. 30, when there is input from a creator using the creator terminal device 10 ("Yes" in S311), a script is generated based on the input, comprising identification information of the content recognizable by the first service, metadata for searching for the content, and comment information corresponding to the introduction and conclusion of the content (S312), and the script is stored in a specified storage medium so as to be viewable by a user using the user terminal device 20 (S313).

[0270] Here, the content includes songs distributed by a music distribution service, and the identification information of the content includes a song ID that can identify the song, etc. Also, the introduction and conclusion are examples of comments about the content, and it is sufficient that at least one of the introduction and conclusion is set.

[0271] Moreover, the first service is, for example, a music distribution service A provided by company A. Moreover, the metadata includes the song title, etc. The predetermined storage medium may be, for example, database 353 of program distribution server 30A.

[0272] Furthermore, in the content providing system 1, as shown in FIG. 31, when a user who has subscribed to the second service makes a request to play a script recorded on a specified storage medium ("Yes" in S331), a process is performed to identify corresponding content from among the content managed by the second service based on metadata for searching for content (S332), and it is determined whether or not the corresponding content has been identified (S333).

[0273] Here, the second service is, for example, a music distribution service B provided by company B. Furthermore, the content includes songs distributed by the music distribution service, and the metadata includes song titles, etc.

[0274] If it is determined in the determination process of step S333 that the corresponding content has been identified, the content is read out using the rights that the user has already acquired by contracting with the second service, and is controlled to be provided to the user (S334).

[0275] In other words, the rights that the user has already acquired include rights as a paid premium user or a free user in music distribution service B provided by company B, and music distributed from music distribution service B is played on user terminal device 20.

[0276] On the other hand, if it is determined in the judgment process of step S333 that the corresponding content cannot be identified, control is performed so that the reading of the content and the corresponding comments is skipped, or sample data corresponding to the content managed by the first service is read and provided to the user (S335).

[0277] That is, in the user terminal device 20, the song to be played and its introduction and conclusion are skipped, or a sample song distributed from music distribution service A provided by company A is played.

[0278] <3. Third embodiment>

[0279] For the introduction and conclusion of a musical piece that has been made into a program, for example, words or contexts that are inappropriate for introductions or conclusions of a musical piece, such as defamatory terms, are automatically identified, and if a sentence containing such words or contexts is present, a warning can be displayed at the program creation stage or registration can be disallowed at the program registration stage.

[0280] Furthermore, if after a program has been registered, the copyright holder of the music indicates that consecutive playback of a particular introduction or ending and the music is not permitted, then, for example, playback of only that introduction or ending may be prohibited (playback of the music is permitted), playback of the introduction, music, and ending in that order may be prohibited, or playback of the music itself may be prohibited.

[0281] In this way, a minimum license function can be used when registering and providing podcast programs.

[0282] (Other configurations of distribution server) FIG. 32 shows another example of the functional configuration of the control unit 300 in the distribution server 30. In FIG.

[0283] 32, like FIG. 14, the control unit 300 has a request acceptance / response unit 351, a distribution processing unit 352, and a database 353, but further has a text check unit 161.

[0284] In program distribution server 30A, when a program creation tool requests registration of a program script, distribution processing section 352 supplies text of the introduction and conclusion included in the program script to text check section 161.

[0285] The text check unit 161 performs a text check process on the introduction and conclusion texts supplied from the distribution processing unit 352 , and supplies the results of the text check to the distribution processing unit 352 .

[0286] This text checking process involves, for example, natural language processing including morphological analysis and syntactic analysis, and the sentences in the introductory and postscriptive texts are analyzed to check whether they contain defamatory terms or other words and contexts (sentence meanings).

[0287] If the result of the sentence check supplied from the sentence check unit 161 indicates that the sentences are suitable as introduction and conclusion sentences, the distribution processing unit 352 stores the program script requested to be registered by the program creation tool in a database 353.

[0288] Note that while the text check unit 161 can be provided, for example, inside the program distribution server 30A, it may also be provided as an external server, which checks the text in response to a request from the program distribution server 30A and returns the results of the text check.

[0289] (Process flow when checking text) FIG. 33 is a sequence diagram showing the process flow when checking a sentence.

[0290] In the example of Figure 33, a program creation tool and a program renderer are executed on the terminal devices of the creator and the user, respectively, and a program distribution service, music distribution service, and TTS service are provided by each distribution server, respectively, as in the first example described with reference to Figure 15, but the program distribution server 30A also executes processing related to text checking.

[0291] In the creator terminal device 10, a program creation tool is executed, and the program creation tool operates in cooperation with each distribution server 30, thereby executing the processes of steps S111 to S124.

[0292] The program creation tool acquires the song list transmitted from the song distribution server 30B and presents it to the creator (S111).

[0293] The program creation tool generates a script for the podcast program based on the song ID of the song selected by the creator from the song list and the introductory and postscript text for the song entered by the creator (S112), and sends a registration request to the program distribution server 30A (S113).

[0294] At this time, program distribution server 30A requests a text check of the introduction and conclusion by sending the introduction and conclusion text requested to be registered by the program creation tool to text check section 361 (S114).

[0295] In response to the request for a sentence check, the sentence check unit 361 performs a sentence check of the introductory and post-explanation texts (S115), and notifies the result of the sentence check (S116).

[0296] In program distribution server 30A, the result of the text check is notified to the program production tool based on the response from text check section 361 (S117). As a result, the program production tool displays the result of the text check (S118).

[0297] For example, if the text check unit 361 determines that the text is not suitable as an introduction or conclusion, it notifies the user that the text is not permitted.

[0298] When notifying the creator of this disapproval, the disapproved portion of the checked text may be notified. This disapproval notice including the disapproved portion is sent to the program creation tool, and the creator is notified that the introduction and conclusion of the music piece input by the creator are disapproved, and the text of the disapproved portion is presented.

[0299] Based on the notification provided by the program creation tool, the creator can modify the introductory and post-introductory text of the music to be made into a program.

[0300] The program creation tool regenerates the podcast program based on the introductory and post-narrative texts of the music piece modified by the creator (S119), and sends another registration request to the program distribution server 30A (S120).

[0301] At this time, the program distribution server 30A requests a text check of the introduction and conclusion by sending the introduction and conclusion text requested to be registered by the program creation tool to the text check unit 361 (S121).

[0302] In response to the request for a sentence check, the sentence check unit 361 performs a sentence check of the introductory and post-explanation texts (S122), and notifies the result of the sentence check (S123).

[0303] For example, when the text check unit 361 determines that the text is suitable as an introduction and conclusion, it notifies the user that the text is permitted.

[0304] In the program distribution server 30A, based on the permission notification from the text checking unit 361, the program script including the revised introduction and conclusion text of the music piece requested to be re-registered by the program creation tool is stored in the database 353 and is made viewable by the user using the user terminal device 20 (S124).

[0305] (Overall processing) FIG. 34 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process in the third embodiment.

[0306] The process shown in FIG. 34 is realized by cooperative operation of the creator terminal device 10 (control unit 100 thereof) and the distribution server 30 (control unit 300 thereof) in the content providing system to which the present technology is applied.

[0307] In the content providing system 1, as shown in FIG. 34, when a script is generated in response to input from a creator using the creator terminal device 10 ("Yes" in S411), the content of the comment indicated by the comment information included in the script and corresponding to the introduction and conclusion of the content is analyzed (S412), and based on the analysis results, it is determined whether the content of the comment is appropriate as a comment on the content (S413).

[0308] Here, the content includes music distributed by a music distribution service, etc. The introduction and conclusion are examples of comments related to the content, and it is sufficient that at least one of the introduction and conclusion is set.

[0309] If the judgment process in step S413 judges that the content of the comment is appropriate as a comment on the content, a script including the comment information is stored in a specified storage medium so that it can be viewed by a user using the user terminal device 20 (S414).

[0310] In other words, if the introduction or conclusion of a song to be made into a program does not contain any words or context such as slanderous terms, it is determined to be suitable for the introduction or conclusion, and the script of the program is registered in database 353 of program distribution server 30A.

[0311] On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process of step S413 that the content of the comment is not appropriate as a comment on the content, a notice to that effect is sent to the creator terminal device 10 used by the creator.

[0312] In other words, if the introduction or conclusion of a song to be made into a program contains words or context that are defamatory, these will be automatically identified and a warning will be displayed at the program creation stage using a program creation tool, or registration will be denied at the program registration stage.

[0313] <4. Fourth embodiment>

[0314] Advertisements may be inserted into a podcast program. For example, the contents of at least one of the introduction and the conclusion of a programmable piece of music may be analyzed, and a related advertisement may be inserted before the introduction or after the conclusion depending on the analysis result.

[0315] Advertisements inserted into a program can be written as text in a script, for example, and speech synthesis can be based on the same phonemes as the speech synthesis of the pre- and post-description text.

[0316] That is, in the user terminal device 20, when the introductory remarks and conclusions contained in the script of a program selected by the user are voice-synthesized in a specific voice and provided to the user, the advertisement text is also voice-synthesized in the specific voice and provided to the user.

[0317] (Other system configurations) FIG. 35 illustrates another example of the configuration of an embodiment of a content providing system to which the present technology is applied.

[0318] In Figure 35, similar to Figure 8, the content provision system 1 includes a creator terminal device 10, a user terminal device 20, a program distribution server 30A, a music distribution server 30B, and an audio distribution server 30C, but also includes an advertisement distribution server 30D.

[0319] The advertisement delivery server 30D is composed of one or more servers that provide an advertisement delivery service. The advertisement delivery service is a service that delivers advertisements via the Internet, and is provided by, for example, an advertisement delivery business operator.

[0320] For example, in response to a request from the program distribution server 30A, the advertisement distribution server 30D identifies an advertisement managed in the advertisement management or advertisement database 353, and distributes the identified advertisement (the advertisement text).

[0321] The advertisement delivery server 30D has a configuration similar to that of the delivery server 30 and the functional configuration of the control unit 300 shown in FIG. 13 and FIG.

[0322] (Example of advertisement) FIG. 36 shows an example of an advertisement inserted into a podcast show script.

[0323] As mentioned above, the script for a podcast program includes the song to be made into a program, as well as a warm-up and after-song for that song, but in Figure 36, advertising text has been inserted after the after-song.

[0324] In the example of Figure 36, the introduction contains the text "...I still want to listen to this in the summer...", and the conclusion contains the text "...this is a song that really makes the hot summer more enjoyable!", and these texts are analyzed.

[0325] In response to the results of the text analysis, a beer advertisement with the text "On a hot summer day, beer is the best. X's dry beer is refreshing!" is inserted into the program script as an advertisement related to the keyword "summer." Along with the text of the beer advertisement, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a web page related to X's beer is also written.

[0326] Here, when the introductory and postscript texts are synthesized and read aloud in TTS voice, the sentences of the text can be analyzed using natural language processing, etc., so a more accurate analysis can be performed compared to analyzing the live voice when delivering the live voice.

[0327] Therefore, by analyzing the text of the introduction and conclusion, it is possible to present more relevant advertisements. For example, if the introduction or conclusion narration is "I want to drink wine while listening to this song," it is possible to present a wine advertisement.

[0328] In addition, when the inserted advertisement text is synthesized and read by the TTS voice, it may be read as is, or it may be read in the tone of a DJ, or in a dialect, for example. Alternatively, the tone of the advertisement TTS voice may be matched to the tone of the introductory or post-narrative TTS voice.

[0329] In the example of Figure 36, an advertisement is inserted after the postscript, but the advertisement can be inserted anywhere, and it is particularly preferable to insert the advertisement before the introduction or after the postscript in relation to the music.

[0330] (Processing flow for inserting advertisements into a program) FIG. 37 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing when an advertisement is inserted into a program.

[0331] In the example of Figure 37, the program renderer is executed on the user terminal device 20, and the program distribution service, music distribution service, and TTS service are provided by each distribution server, similar to the first example described with reference to Figure 15, but an advertisement distribution server 30D is provided that provides an advertisement distribution service and an advertisement management DB.

[0332] In the program distribution server 30A, when a program renderer operated by a user issues an instruction to play a podcast program that is made available for viewing, the script of the program is analyzed (S131, S132).

[0333] The program distribution server 30A transmits a request according to the analysis result of the script of the program to the advertisement distribution server 30D, whereby a word / advertisement list is obtained from the advertisement management database 353 (S133, S134).

[0334] For example, when analyzing a script, the sentences of the introductory and postscript texts set in the script are analyzed, the words and meanings contained in the sentences are extracted, and further, the insertion positions of advertisements in the program are determined. In addition, since the words and meanings are associated with advertisement IDs in the advertisement management database 353, advertisement IDs corresponding to the introductory and postscript texts are obtained as a word advertisement list.

[0335] Furthermore, the program distribution server 30A transmits a request including the advertisement ID to the advertisement distribution server 30D, thereby acquiring the advertisement (the advertisement text) (S135, S136).

[0336] That is, in the advertisement distribution server 30D, the advertisement ID and the advertisement text are associated and managed in the advertisement database 353, so the program distribution server 30A can obtain the advertisement text specified by the advertisement ID corresponding to the preamble and postamble, and insert it into the determined insertion location (S137). The script of the program into which the advertisement has been inserted is transmitted to the program renderer (S138).

[0337] In steps S139 to S147, similar to steps S16 to S24 in FIG. 15, the program renderer plays the introduction set in the program script, the song identified by the song ID, and the conclusion, in that order, and the program becomes viewable.

[0338] In addition, since the advertisement text is inserted after the postscript in the program script, the program renderer requests the voice distribution server 30C, which provides a TTS service, to perform voice synthesis of the advertisement text (S148).

[0339] In response to a request from the program renderer, voice distribution server 30C performs voice synthesis on the advertisement text (S149), and distributes the result of the voice synthesis (S150).

[0340] As a result, the program renderer receives the result of the voice synthesis distributed from the voice distribution server 30C and performs a rendering process, thereby reproducing the TTS voice for the advertisement portion inserted in the program.

[0341] In addition, since the script of a podcast program includes the song IDs of multiple songs along with the introductory and post-introductory text for each song, after steps S139 to S150 are completed, processing returns to step S139 (S151), and steps S139 to S151 are repeated according to the number of song IDs.

[0342] As a result, the program renderer repeatedly plays back the introduction, music, and conclusion in this order for each music ID set in the program script, allowing the user to listen to the podcast program.

[0343] Furthermore, if an advertisement related to the introduction or post-narration is inserted before or after the introduction or post-narration, the TTS voice of the advertisement is also played, so that the user can link the introduction or post-narration, music, and the advertisement. Note that the advertisement is not limited to being output as voice, and may be presented as a GUI (Graphical User Interface), and for example, the advertisement may be displayed in a predetermined area on the screen of a music distribution application.

[0344] For example, when delivering live voice data of comments such as introduction and conclusion, the live voice data may be used as learning material to create specific music, and a TTS may be created that performs voice synthesis using the specific music. The voice delivery server 30C may use this TTS to voice synthesize advertisement text and deliver it to the user terminal device 20. This may lead to an improvement in the advertisement conversion rate, since advertisements are provided in a voice close to the live voice that the user prefers.

[0345] 37, for the sake of simplicity, the program distribution service and the program analysis-related processes are both executed by program distribution server 30A, but these processes may be executed by separate servers. Also, the advertisement distribution service and the advertisement management DB-related processes are both executed by advertisement distribution server 30D, but these processes may be executed by separate servers.

[0346] (Overall processing) FIG. 38 is a flowchart illustrating an overall process in the fourth embodiment.

[0347] The process shown in FIG. 38 is realized by cooperative operation of the user terminal device 20 (control unit 200 thereof) and the distribution server 30 (control unit 300 thereof) in the content providing system to which the present technology is applied.

[0348] In the content providing system 1, as shown in FIG. 38, when a user using the user terminal device 20 requests playback of a script stored in a specified storage medium ("Yes" in S511), the content of the comment indicated by the comment information included in the script is analyzed (S512).

[0349] Here, the comment includes at least one of the introduction and conclusion of the song as content, and, for example, the text sentences of the introduction and conclusion are analyzed and the words and meanings contained in the sentences are extracted, thereby analyzing the content of the introduction and conclusion.

[0350] Then, in the content providing system 1, based on the analysis results of the content of the comment, advertising data (advertising text) is acquired from the advertising distribution server 30D (S513), and the advertising data is controlled to be provided to the user before or after the comment is provided (S514).

[0351] <5. Modifications>

[0352] Original IDs owned by each record company may be used as content identification information such as a song ID written in the script of a podcast program.

[0353] (Other system configurations) FIG. 39 illustrates another example of the configuration of an embodiment of a content providing system to which the present technology is applied.

[0354] In Figure 39, similar to Figure 8, the content provision system 1 includes a creator terminal device 10, a user terminal device 20, a program distribution server 30A, a music distribution server 30B, and an audio distribution server 30C, but also includes an ID management server 31.

[0355] The ID management server 31 manages music IDs used for each music distribution service by linking them with each other using a management database. In response to a request from a device such as the user terminal device 20, the ID management server 31 provides information about the music IDs it manages.

[0356] The ID management server 31 has a configuration similar to that of the distribution server 30 shown in FIG.

[0357] (Processing flow when sharing program information) FIG. 40 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow when music IDs are managed and program information is shared.

[0358] In the example of Figure 40, the program creation tool and program renderer are executed on the terminal devices of the creator and the user, respectively, and the program distribution service and music distribution service are provided by each distribution server, respectively, which is similar to the first example described with reference to Figure 15.

[0359] In addition, in the example of Figure 40, there are provided a music distribution server 30B-1 of Company A which provides music distribution service A, and a music distribution server 30B-2 of Company B which provides music distribution service B, and the program distribution server 30A is provided by Company A.

[0360] Also provided is an ID management server 31 that manages program IDs. Furthermore, it is assumed that the user terminal device 20 is running a program renderer provided by company B as a music distribution application.

[0361] The ID management server 31 receives a music ID used in music distribution service A transmitted from the music distribution server 30B-1 of company A and a music ID used in music distribution service B transmitted from the music distribution server 30B-2 of company B (S171, S172). These music IDs are original IDs owned by company A and company B, respectively.

[0362] In ID management server 31, a song ID used in music distribution service A and a song ID used in music distribution service B are managed in association with each other using a song master ID.

[0363] In steps S173 to S175, similar to steps S11 to S13 in FIG. 15, a program script including songs assigned with Company A's song IDs is generated based on the song list transmitted from Company A's song distribution server 30B-1 by a program creation tool executed by the creator terminal device 10, and the script is registered in Company A's program distribution server 30A.

[0364] At this time, the user terminal device 20 executes Company B's program renderer, and when a user who has a contract with music distribution service B instructs playback of a podcast program that is publicly available for viewing on the program distribution server 30A, the script of the program distributed from the program distribution server 30A is received (S176, S177).

[0365] The program renderer of company B transmits a list of music IDs of company A set in the received script to the ID management server 31, and requests conversion of the music IDs (S178).

[0366] In response to a request from the program renderer, the ID management server 31 converts the list of music IDs of company A into a list of music IDs of company B, and transmits the list to the program renderer of company B (S179, S180).

[0367] In other words, while the song ID set in the program script is an original ID from Company A, the user has a contract with Company B's music distribution service B, and therefore will not be able to use music distribution service B to play the song identified by that song ID.

[0368] Therefore, the ID management server 31 converts the original song ID of company A into an original song ID of company B through ID conversion, thereby making it possible to play the song identified by company A's song ID set in the script using company B's music distribution service B.

[0369] The program renderer requests music distribution server 30B-2, which provides music distribution service B, to distribute the music identified by the converted music ID (S181).

[0370] In response to a request from the program renderer, Company B's music distribution server 30B-2 checks the rights that the user has acquired through a contract with music distribution service B (S182), and if it determines that the music identified by the music ID can be played, it streams the music to Company B's program renderer (S183).

[0371] As a result, the program renderer of company B receives the streaming data of the music distributed from company B's music distribution server 30B-2 and performs rendering processing to play the music identified by the music ID.

[0372] Although this has been omitted for ease of understanding, in the script for a podcast program, the song ID is recorded in the program along with the introductory and closing text, so that after the introductory audio introducing the song identified by the song ID is played, the song itself is played, and after the song has been played, the closing audio is played.

[0373] Furthermore, since the script of a podcast program includes the song IDs of multiple songs along with the introductory and post-introductory text for each song, after the processing of steps S181 to S183 is completed, the process returns to step S181 (S184) and the processing of steps S181 to S184 is repeated.

[0374] As a result, Company B's program renderer repeatedly plays the introduction, the song (the song distributed by Company B's music distribution service B), and the conclusion in that order for each of Company A's song IDs set in the program script.

[0375] (Overall processing) 41 and 42 are flow charts for explaining an overall picture of the processing in the modified example.

[0376] The processing shown in Figures 41 and 42 is realized by the cooperative operation of the creator terminal device 10 (its control unit 100), the user terminal device 20 (its control unit 200), the distribution server 30 (its control unit 300), and the ID management server 31 (its control unit) in a content provision system to which the present technology is applied.

[0377] In the content providing system 1, as shown in FIG. 41, when there is input from a creator using the creator terminal device 10 ("Yes" in S611), a script is generated based on the input from the creator, comprising first content identification information recognizable by the first service and comment information corresponding to the introduction and conclusion of the content (S612), and the script is stored in a specified storage medium so that it can be viewed by the user (S613).

[0378] Here, the content includes songs distributed by a music distribution service, and the identification information of the content includes a song ID that can identify the song, etc. Also, the introduction and conclusion are examples of comments about the content, and it is sufficient that at least one of the introduction and conclusion is set.

[0379] The comment information includes text representing the comment, link information to the live voice, etc. The first service is, for example, music distribution service A provided by company A. The predetermined storage medium can be, for example, database 353 of program distribution server 30A.

[0380] Furthermore, in the content providing system 1, as shown in FIG. 42, when a user who has subscribed to a second service makes a request to play a script stored in a specified storage medium ("Yes" in S631), second content identification information recognizable by the second service corresponding to the first content identification information is identified (S632), content corresponding to the second content identification information is identified from content managed by the second service (S633), and the content is read using the rights that the user has already acquired by subscribing to the second service, and is controlled to be provided to the user (S634).

[0381] Here, the second service is, for example, music distribution service B provided by company B, and the rights that the user has already acquired include rights as a paid premium user and a free user.

[0382] (Other variations) When playing back music using a program renderer in the user terminal device 20, it is also possible to turn the music into a video jockey (VJ) by adding characters and images.

[0383] <6. Computer configuration>

[0384] The processing of each step in the above-mentioned flowchart can be executed by hardware or software. When a series of processes is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed in the computer of each device.

[0385] The program executed by the computer can be provided by being recorded on a removable recording medium such as a package medium, etc. The program can also be provided via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting.

[0386] In a computer, the program can be installed in the storage unit via the input / output I / F by inserting a removable recording medium into a drive. The program can also be received by a communication unit via a wired or wireless transmission medium and installed in the storage unit. Alternatively, the program can be pre-installed in the ROM or storage unit.

[0387] Here, in this specification, the processing performed by a computer according to a program does not necessarily have to be performed in chronological order according to the order described in the flowchart. In other words, the processing performed by a computer according to a program also includes processing executed in parallel or individually (for example, parallel processing or processing by objects).

[0388] The program may be processed by one computer (processor), or may be distributed among a plurality of computers. Furthermore, the program may be transferred to a remote computer for execution.

[0389] Furthermore, in this specification, a system refers to a collection of multiple components (devices, modules (parts), etc.), regardless of whether all the components are in the same housing. Therefore, multiple devices housed in separate housings and connected via a network, and a single device in which multiple modules are housed in a single housing, are both systems.

[0390] The embodiments of the present technology are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present technology. For example, the present technology can be configured as cloud computing in which one function is shared and processed jointly by multiple devices via a network.

[0391] Each step described in the above flow chart can be executed by one device or can be shared among multiple devices. Furthermore, when one step includes multiple processes, the multiple processes included in the step can be executed by one device or can be shared among multiple devices.

[0392] Furthermore, the effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and other effects may also be obtained.

[0393] The present technology can be configured as follows.

[0394] (1) a script, which is generated by a creator and is composed of identification information of the content and comment information, is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; The control unit controls the reading of content indicated by content identification information included in a script selected by a user, using a right already acquired by the user through a contract with a specific service, and provides the content to the user, and controls the reading of comments according to comment information included in the script at least either before or after the content is provided, and provides the comments to the user. Content delivery system. (2) The control unit controls the device to synthesize text as the comment information included in a script selected by the user and provide the text to the user through voice synthesis in accordance with the script. The content providing system according to (1) above. (3) The control unit performs control so as to access link information to voice data as the comment information included in a script selected by the user, read the voice data, and provide the voice data to the user, in accordance with the script selected by the user. The content providing system according to (1) above. (4) When the control unit receives a request for playing a playlist from the user, the control unit performs control so as not to read out a comment corresponding to the comment information included in the script selected by the user, but to read out content indicated by content identification information included in the script and provide it to the user. A content providing system according to any one of (1) to (3). (5) The control unit is a script generated by a creator, the script including identification information of the content, first comment information corresponding to an introduction to the content, and second comment information corresponding to a conclusion after the content is reproduced, is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; According to a script selected by a user, read out a preamble according to the first comment information included in the script and provide it to the user; reading out the content indicated by the content identification information following the first comment information and providing the content to a user; A postscript is read according to the second comment information following the content identification information and provided to the user. Control so that A content providing system according to any one of (1) to (4). (6) The control unit is a script, which is generated by a creator and is composed of content identification information and comment information that can be recognized by a specific service, is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; According to a script selected by a user, the content indicated by the content identification information included in the script is read out using a right already acquired by the user through a contract with the specific service, and the content is provided to the user. Also, at least either before or after the content is provided, a comment is read out according to the comment information included in the script and provided to the user. The content providing system according to (1) above. (7) The control unit is a script, which is generated by a creator and is made up of content identification information recognizable by the first service, metadata for searching for the content, and comment information, is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; When the script is selected by a user who has made a contract with a second service different from the first service, the script identifies the corresponding content from the content managed by the second service using the metadata, and controls the script so as to read the content and provide it to the user using the right that the user has already acquired through the contract with the second service. The content providing system according to (6) above. (8) When the script is selected by a user who has made a contract with the second service, if the corresponding content cannot be identified from the content managed by the second service based on the metadata, the control unit performs control so as to skip reading of the content and the corresponding comments. The content providing system according to (7) above. (9) When the script is selected by a user who has signed a contract with the second service, if the corresponding content cannot be identified from the content managed by the second service based on the metadata, the control unit controls to read sample data corresponding to the content managed by the first service and provide the sample data to the user. The content providing system according to (7) above. (10) The control unit is Before the script generated by a creator is stored in the predetermined storage medium, a comment content indicated by the comment information included in the script is analyzed; If it is determined based on the analysis result that the comment is not appropriate as a comment on the content, the user is notified of that fact. A content providing system according to any one of (1) to (9). (11) When the control unit determines that a comment is inappropriate as a comment on the content, the control unit performs control to notify the user of the inappropriate part of the comment. The content providing system according to (10) above. (12) When the control unit determines that a comment is not appropriate as a comment on the content, the control unit controls so that a script including the comment information corresponding to the comment is not stored in the predetermined storage medium. The content providing system according to (10) or (11) above. (13) The control unit is Analyzing the content of the comment indicated by the comment information included in the script selected by the user; Depending on the analysis result, the advertisement data acquired from the advertisement distribution server is controlled so as to be provided to the user before the content is provided to the user, before the comment is provided, or after the content is provided to the user, after the comment is provided. A content providing system according to any one of (1) to (12). (14) The control unit is synthesizing text as the comment information included in a script selected by the user using specific phonemes in accordance with the script, and providing the text to the user; The text as the advertisement data is also controlled so as to be provided to the user by synthesizing the text using the specific phonemes. The content providing system according to (13) above. (15) The control unit analyzes the content of the text as the comment information included in the script selected by the user. The content providing system according to (13) or (14) above. (16) Master identification information for identifying a specific content and content identification information by which each service can recognize the specific content are managed in a management database in association with each other; The control unit is a script including first content identification information recognizable by the first service and comment information, the script being generated by a creator, is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; when the script is selected by a user who has a contract with a second service different from the first service, identifying second content identification information that corresponds to the first content identification information and is recognizable by the second service according to the management database; Identifying content corresponding to the second content identification information from content managed by the second service; The content is read out using the right that the user has already acquired by contracting with the second service, and the content is provided to the user. The content providing system according to (1) above. (17) The content includes music, The comment includes at least one of a preface and a postface set for the song, and the specific service includes a music distribution service to which the user has a subscription. A content providing system according to any one of (1) to (16). (18) a first terminal device used by the creator; a second terminal device used by the user; a first server having the predetermined storage medium storing the script; a second server that distributes the content; The content providing system according to any one of (1) to (17), (19) a script, which is generated by a creator and is composed of identification information of the content and comment information, is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; The system controls the reading of the content indicated by the content identification information included in the script selected by the user, using the right already acquired by the user through a contract with a specific service, and provides the content to the user, and controls the reading of comments according to the comment information included in the script at least either before or after the provision of the content, and provides the comments to the user. How content is provided. (20) Computer, a script, which is generated by a creator and is composed of identification information of the content and comment information, is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; The system controls the reading of the content indicated by the content identification information included in the script selected by the user, using the right already acquired by the user through a contract with a specific service, and provides the content to the user, and controls the reading of comments according to the comment information included in the script at least either before or after the provision of the content, and provides the comments to the user. A storage medium that records a program for functioning as a control unit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0395] 1 Content providing system, 10 Creator terminal device, 20 User terminal device, 30 Distribution server, 30A Program distribution server, 30B Music distribution server, 30C Audio distribution server, 30D Advertisement distribution server, 31 ID management server, 50 Network, 100 Control unit, 101 CPU, 102 ROM, 103 RAM, 104 Bus, 105 Input unit, 106 Output unit, 107 Memory unit, 108 Communication unit, 109 Near field wireless communication unit, 110 Input / output I / F, 111 Operation unit, 112 Camera unit, 113 Sensor unit, 121 Display unit, 122 Sound output unit, 151 Input reception unit, 152 Music information acquisition unit, 153 Program generation unit, 154 Audio information acquisition unit, 155 Audio generation unit, 156, registration unit, 200, control unit, 201, CPU, 202, ROM, 203, RAM, 204, bus, 205, input unit, 206, output unit, 207, memory unit, 208, communication unit, 209, short-range wireless communication unit, 210, input / output I / F, 211, operation unit, 212, camera unit, 213, sensor unit, 221, display unit, 222, sound output unit, 251, program acquisition unit, 252, music acquisition unit, 253, audio acquisition unit, 254, rendering unit, 255, presentation control unit, 300, control unit, 301, CPU, 302, ROM, 303, RAM, 304, bus, 305, input unit, 306, output unit, 307, memory unit, 308 A communication unit, 309 a drive, 310 an input / output I / F, 351 an input reception unit, 352 a distribution processing unit, 353 a database, and 361 a text check unit.

Claims

1. a script including at least content identification information and text information related to the advertisement is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; According to a script selected by a user, the content identified by the content identification information included in the script is read out using a right already acquired by the user through a contract with a specific service, and the content is provided to the user; The text information included in the script is subjected to voice synthesis and is controlled so as to be provided to the user at least either before or after providing the content. Equipped with a control unit Content delivery system.

2. the script stored in the predetermined storage medium includes comment information; The control unit controls to synthesize comment information included in the script into voice and provide the voice to the user at least either before or after providing the content. The content providing system according to claim 1 .

3. The control unit controls the voice synthesis of the text information and the voice synthesis of the comment information to be performed based on the same phonemes. The content providing system according to claim 2 .

4. The voice synthesis of the text information is performed based on a model that has been trained in advance by machine learning using voice data as learning material. The content providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The control unit is Analyzing the content of the comment indicated by the comment information; The system controls the system so that text information related to advertisements based on the analysis results is synthesized into voice and provided to the user.

4. The content providing system according to claim 2 or 3.

6. a script including at least content identification information and text information related to the advertisement is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; Controlling the reading of content indicated by content identification information included in a script selected by a user, using a right already acquired by the user through a contract with a specific service, and providing the content to the user; The text information included in the script is subjected to voice synthesis and is controlled so as to be provided to the user at least either before or after providing the content. How content is provided.

7. Computer, a script including at least content identification information and text information related to the advertisement is stored in a predetermined storage medium so as to be viewable by a user; According to a script selected by a user, the content identified by the content identification information included in the script is read out using a right already acquired by the user through a contract with a specific service, and the content is provided to the user; The text information included in the script is subjected to voice synthesis and is controlled so as to be provided to the user at least either before or after providing the content. A program to function as a control unit.

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