Character generation device, character generation method, and program

Abstract

To provide a character generation device, a character generation method, and a program which can generate a character representing an evidence of having supported an artist.SOLUTION: The character generation device according to the present disclosure comprises: an artist feature quantity extraction unit which extracts an artist feature quantity on the basis of profile information of a first artist; a track feature quantity extraction unit which extracts a track feature quantity from a first track created by the first artist; and a character generation unit which determines a character of the first artist who created the first track, on the basis of at least one of the artist feature quantity and the track feature quantity and generates the character.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a character generation device, a character generation method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] With the recent shift to streaming music, there are several artists who are seeing a sharp decline in income from traditional media. Because income from streaming services is determined by the number of times a song is played, only a few major artists are benefiting, while other artists are declining. This has led to a need for a system that supports artists' creative activities.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a service providing server that allows users to freely buy and sell content they have created themselves, enables interaction between users through feedback from buyers of the content, and allows derivative content created from content on the site to be freely bought and sold, thereby enabling the content to grow. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-118776 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, although the service providing server described in Patent Document 1 above can return rewards to users who are creators of the original content of derivative content, it leaves no proof that they have supported the artist, and there are often issues such as no object left to project their desire to confirm their bond with the artist or their feelings for the artist.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present disclosure aims to provide a character generation device, a character generation method, and a program that can generate a character that shows proof of supporting an artist. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the character generation device according to the present disclosure includes an artist feature extraction unit that extracts artist features based on profile information of a first artist; a track feature extraction unit that extracts track features from a first track created by the first artist; and a character generation unit that determines a character for the first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist features and the track features, and generates the character.

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the character generation method of the present disclosure includes the steps of extracting artist characteristics from profile information of a first artist, extracting track characteristics from a first track created by the first artist, and determining a character of the first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist characteristics and the track characteristics, and generating the character.

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the program of the present disclosure causes a computer to execute the steps of extracting artist characteristics from profile information of a first artist, extracting track characteristics from a first track created by the first artist, and determining a character of the first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist characteristics and the track characteristics, and generating the character. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a character generation device, a character generation method, and a program that can generate a character that shows proof of supporting an artist. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a character generation system according to the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a character generation system according to the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the track information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in a profile information storage unit of a character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of music genres stored in the profile information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of musical instruments stored in the profile information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in a character information storage unit of a character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between pieces of information stored in the character information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram used to explain the processing of the artist feature extraction unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the character generation method according to the present disclosure. [Figure 12]FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of NFT conversion, sale, and profit return of a character generated by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for registering a truck by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for reflecting the feature amounts of the artist of the superimposed character to the artist feature amounts, performed by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for reflecting the feature amounts of a track to be superimposed on the track feature amounts by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for reflecting artist features when superimposed by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a processing flow for reflecting track feature amounts when overlapping is performed by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a user terminal according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0013] (Character Generation System Overview) First, an overview of the character generation system according to the present disclosure will be described using Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the character generation system according to the present disclosure.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, for example, user terminal 200A of user U1 records track SD1, which is the sound of user U1 playing the drums. User terminal 200B of user U2 records track SD2, which is the sound of user U2's singing voice, from a microphone, for example, via wireless communication. User terminal 200C of user U3 records track SD3, which is the sound of user U3 playing the guitar. User terminals 200A, 200B, and 200C then transmit the recorded tracks SD1, SD2, and SD3 to character generation device 100 via network N.

[0015] Character generation device 100 generates a new composite track by overlaying tracks SD1, SD2, and SD3 obtained from user terminals 200A, 200B, and 200C. For example, character generation device 100 distributes the composite content to user terminal 200D of user U4 based on a request from the user terminal 200D, and user terminal 200D outputs the sound of composite track SD4 in response to an operation by the user.

[0016] In addition, a server device dedicated to distributing composite tracks may be provided separately from character generation device 100, and the composite track generated by character generation device 100 may be acquired by the server device dedicated to distribution, and the server device dedicated to distribution may distribute the composite track to user terminals 200A, B, C, and D based on requests from user terminals 200A, B, C, and D.

[0017] As the character generation device 100 generates a composite track, it generates a character of the artist based on the characteristics of the composite track and the track that is the basis of the composite track. The generated character is registered in an external NFT marketplace, linked to an NFT (Non-Fungible Token), and sold to users. This allows users to obtain proof of their support for the artist in the form of a character linked to a one-of-a-kind NFT. Furthermore, users can project their feelings toward the artist by looking at the character linked to the NFT.

[0018] (Character generation system configuration) Next, the configuration of character generation system 1 according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a character generation system according to the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 2, character generation system 1 according to the present disclosure includes character generation device 100 and user terminal 200. Below, a brief description of these configurations will be given.

[0019] Character generation device 100 is an information processing device that performs various information processing, such as generating a composite track by superimposing multiple tracks and generating a character according to the characteristics of the artist of the composite track. Character generation device 100 may be realized by an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer), a WS (Work Station), or a computer equipped with server functions.

[0020] User terminal 200 is an information processing device used by a user. User terminal 200 may be, for example, an information processing device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal, a mobile phone, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Note that the example shown in FIG. 1 illustrates a case where user terminal 200 is a smartphone. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, character generation system 1 may include multiple user terminals 200.

[0021] Network N connects character generation device 100 and user terminal 200 via wired or wireless connections so that they can communicate with each other. If network N is wired, it may be implemented using Ethernet (registered trademark) as defined in IEEE802.3. If network N is wireless, it may be implemented using a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) as defined in IEEE802.11, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like.

[0022] (Character generation device configuration) Next, the configuration of character generation device 100 according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a character generation device according to the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 3, character generation device 100 according to the present disclosure includes a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, a control unit 130, an input unit 140, and a display unit 150. Below, these components will be described in order.

[0023] (Regarding the communication unit 110) Communication unit 110 is a communication module that allows character generation device 100 to communicate with external devices. Communication unit 110 is responsible for sending and receiving various types of data to and from external devices via wireless or wired communication. In the case of wireless communication, communication unit 110 may be equipped with a communication antenna, a radio frequency (RF) circuit, a wireless local area network (LAN) card, or other circuits for wireless communication processing. In the case of wired communication, communication unit 110 may be equipped with a network interface card (NIC) with a wired LAN terminal, a signal transmission circuit, or other circuits for communication processing, for example.

[0024] (Regarding the storage unit 120) The storage unit 120 is a storage device that stores various types of information. The storage unit 120 includes a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device. The main storage device may be realized by a semiconductor memory element such as a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), or a flash memory. The auxiliary storage device may be realized by a hard disk, a solid state drive (SSD), an optical disk, or the like.

[0025] 3, the storage unit 120 includes a track information storage unit 121, a profile information storage unit 122, and a character information storage unit 123. An example of information stored in these components will be described below in order.

[0026] (Regarding the track information storage unit 121) The track information storage unit 121 stores information related to tracks created by artists. An example of the information stored in the track information storage unit 121 will now be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the track information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure.

[0027] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the track information storage unit 121 stores information relating to the items "track ID," "track data," "artist ID," "target track ID," and "overlapping track ID" in association with each other.

[0028] A "track ID" is an identifier that identifies a track created by an artist, and is expressed as a string or number. "Track data" is the data of the track identified by the "track ID," such as audio data in a data format such as MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3) or WAV (RIFF waveform Audio Format). An "artist ID" is an identifier that identifies the artist who created the track identified by the "track ID," and is expressed as a string or number. A "destination track ID" is the track ID of the track onto which the track identified by the "track ID" is superimposed. A "subject track ID" is the track ID of the track that is superimposed on the track identified by the "track ID."

[0029] That is, in Figure 4, the track data of the track identified by the track ID "TRID#1" is "TRDT#1", the artist ID of the artist who produced the track is "ARTID#1", the track ID to which the track is to be overlapped is "TRID#2", and the track IDs to which the track is to be overlapped are "TRID#1, TRID#3".

[0030] The information stored in the track information storage unit 121 is not limited to information relating to the items "Track ID," "Track Data," "Artist ID," "Track ID to be superimposed," and "Track ID to be superimposed," but may also store information relating to tracks produced by any other artist.

[0031] (Regarding the profile information storage unit 122) Profile information storage unit 122 stores information related to the artist's profile. An example of the information stored in profile information storage unit 122 will now be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the profile information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure.

[0032] In the example shown in FIG. 5, the profile information storage unit 122 stores information relating to the items "artist ID," "favorite genre," "main instrument played," and "favorite artist" in association with each other.

[0033] "Artist ID" is an identifier that identifies an artist and is represented by a string of characters, a number, etc. "Favorite genre" is information that indicates the favorite genre of music of the artist identified by the "Artist ID". "Main instrument played" is information about the main instrument played by the artist identified by the "Artist ID". "Favorite artist" is information that indicates the name of the favorite artist of the artist identified by the "Artist ID".

[0034] That is, Figure 5 shows that the favorite genre of the artist identified by the artist ID "ARTID#1" is "GNR#1," the main instrument played by the artist is "MSIST#1," and the name of the artist's favorite artist is "ART#1."

[0035] The information stored in the profile information storage unit 122 is not limited to information relating to the items "artist ID," "favorite genre," "main instrument played," and "favorite artist," but may also include information relating to the profile information of any other artist.

[0036] Furthermore, examples of music genres that can be listed as "favorite genres" stored in profile information storage unit 122 include those shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of music genres stored in the profile information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure.

[0037] As shown in Fig. 6, genres that can be listed as "favorite genres" include, for example, new age, garage rock, melodic hardcore, blues, punk, hard rock, country, reggae, hip hop, classical, etc. Also, as shown in Fig. 6, each genre may be associated with a feature amount and stored in the profile information storage unit 122.

[0038] Furthermore, examples of instruments that can be listed as the "main instrument played" stored in profile information storage unit 122 include those shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an instrument stored in the profile information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure.

[0039] 7, genres that can be listed as "main instruments played" include, for example, drums, marimba, piano, guitar, bass, violin, saxophone, harmonica, vocals, sound effects, etc. Also, as shown in FIG. 7, each instrument may be associated with a feature amount and stored in the profile information storage unit 122.

[0040] (Regarding the character information storage unit 123) The character information storage unit 123 stores information related to information for generating a character that reflects the characteristics of an artist. An example of the information stored in the character information storage unit 123 will now be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the character information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure.

[0041] In the example shown in FIG. 8, the character information storage unit 123 stores information relating to the items "layer," "component," "feature amount," and "image data" in association with each other.

[0042] "Layers" distinguish character components by type, such as type, instrument, head, eyes, mouth, and costume. "Component ID" is an identifier that identifies image data of a character component corresponding to the type of character component indicated in "Layer," and is expressed by a string or number. "Feature" is information indicating the feature associated with the character component identified by the "Component ID," and the feature may be either an artist feature or a track feature, or may be associated with a part attribute. "Image data" is image data of the character component identified by the "Component ID."

[0043] That is, Figure 8 shows an example in which feature quantities such as "FTAM#1" and "FTAM#2" are associated with character components identified by component IDs such as "CMPID#1" and "CMPID#2" corresponding to layer "LYR#1," and image data such as "IMGDT#1" and "IMGDT#2" of the character components are stored for each.

[0044] The information stored in the character information storage unit 123 is not limited to information relating to the items "layer," "component," "feature," and "image data," but may also include information related to information for generating a character that reflects the characteristics of any other artist.

[0045] Next, the relationship between the information stored in the character information storage unit 123 will be described using FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the information stored in the character information storage unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, the layers stored in the character information storage unit 123 indicate the types of elements that make up a character, such as the character's type, the instrument held by the character, the character's head, the character's eyes, the character's mouth, and the character's costume. Furthermore, the components of each layer are determined by features extracted from, for example, the genre of the track created by the artist, the instrument used in the track created by the artist, the rhythm of the track created by the artist, the timbre of the track created by the artist, the tempo of the track created by the artist, and the intonation of the track created by the artist.

[0046] 9, the features associated with the components are extracted from at least one of the artist's profile information and the tracks produced by the artist. That is, the numerical values ​​of the artist features and track features are stored in association with the components of the character's layer.

[0047] (Regarding the control unit 130) Next, returning to Figure 3, control unit 130 will be described. Control unit 130 is a controller that manages and controls character generation device 100. Control unit 130 is implemented by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or the like, executing various programs stored in storage unit 120 using RAM as a work area. Control unit 130 may also be implemented by an integrated circuit, such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0048] As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 130 includes an information acquisition unit 131, a track overlapping unit 132, an artist feature extraction unit 133, a track feature extraction unit 134, an overlapped track number determination unit 135, a character generation unit 136, and a character sales unit 137. The control unit 130 realizes these functions and executes these processes by reading and executing a program (software) from the storage unit 120. Note that these functions of the control unit 130 may be realized by electronic circuits. Furthermore, the control unit 130 may execute these processes using a single CPU, or may be equipped with multiple CPUs that execute these processes in parallel. Each of these components will be described below in order.

[0049] Information acquisition unit 131 acquires various types of information from inside or outside character generation device 100. An example of the information acquired by information acquisition unit 131 will be described below.

[0050] For example, the information acquisition unit 131 acquires track data. For example, the information acquisition unit 131 acquires the track data from the user terminal 200. After acquiring the track data from the user terminal 200, the information acquisition unit 131 stores the acquired track data in the track information storage unit 121. Note that the track here may be, for example, music data provided by an artist or a person who wishes to create music. The music may be a performance on the piano or the like, or may consist of the artist's singing voice. Note that the format of the music data may be, for example, sound source data in a format such as WAV or MP3, but is not limited to these.

[0051] Furthermore, the information acquiring unit 131 acquires the track ID of the destination track to be superimposed. For example, after receiving track data from the user terminal 200, the information acquiring unit 131 acquires the track ID of the destination track to be superimposed with the track. The information acquiring unit 131 may cause the user terminal 200 to display the track ID of the track stored in the track information storage unit 121 and a play button for the track, and acquire the track ID of the destination track to be superimposed with the track data input by the user from the user terminal 200.

[0052] The information acquisition unit 131 also receives part attributes, which are information indicating the attributes of the music of the first track created by the first artist. The part attributes are information indicating the role of the artist, such as rhythm, lead, or bass. For example, if the instrument played by the artist is the guitar, information is received indicating whether the artist plays the role of rhythm guitar or lead guitar.

[0053] The track overlapping unit 132 generates a composite track by overlapping multiple tracks. For example, the track overlapping unit 132 receives designation of an original track and a track to be overlapped, and overlaps the designated track on the original track. That is, the track overlapping unit 132 overlaps a track by the same artist as the artist of the original track, or a track by a different artist, on the original track. The track overlapping unit 132 may also receive input of a track to be further overlapped as the next track on the overlapped tracks, and further overlap the track. In this way, a composite track is created by repeatedly overlapping tracks on the original track.

[0054] The artist feature extraction unit 133 extracts artist features based on the artist's profile information. Artist features are expressed as numerical values ​​that represent the characteristics of an artist, and the numerical values ​​correspond to characteristics related to the artist's nature (favorite genre, main instrument played, etc.). For example, as shown in FIG. 6, if the artist's favorite genre is "new age," the artist feature related to genre will be "1." Also, as shown in FIG. 7, if the artist's main instrument played is "guitar," the artist feature related to instrument will be "4."

[0055] The artist feature extraction unit 133 reads out the "favorite genre" and "main instrument played" corresponding to the artist ID from the profile information storage unit 122, and extracts the artist features associated with each from the profile information storage unit 122.

[0056] The artist feature extraction unit 133 further calculates feature amounts of a second artist from profile information of a second artist who produced a second track onto which the first track produced by the first artist is overlaid. Specifically, when a first track produced by a first artist is overlaid on a second track by a second artist, the artist feature extraction unit 133 reads the artist ID of the second artist who produced the second track from the track information storage unit 121, and reads the profile information of the second artist from the profile information storage unit 122 based on the artist ID. The artist feature extraction unit 133 then extracts artist features associated with "favorite genre" and "main instrument played" from the profile information of the second artist.

[0057] The artist characteristic extraction unit 133 extracts artist characteristics of a second artist who produced a second track onto which a first track produced by the first artist is overlaid, based on profile information of the second artist, and reflects the artist characteristics of the first artist.

[0058] The artist characteristic extraction unit 133 extracts artist characteristics of the second artist based on profile information of the second artist who produced the second track on which the first track produced by the first artist is overlaid. The artist characteristic extraction unit 133 then calculates the artist characteristic of the first artist that reflects the artist characteristic of the second artist based on the artist characteristic of the first artist and the artist characteristic of the second artist. For example, the calculation may be a weighted average. Specifically, the artist characteristic of the first artist multiplied by 0.8 and the artist characteristic of the second artist multiplied by 0.2 may be added together to obtain the artist characteristic of the first artist that reflects the artist characteristic of the second artist.

[0059] The artist characteristic extraction unit 133 may also extract artist characteristics of a second artist who created a second track overlaid on a first track created by the first artist based on profile information of the second artist and reflect the artist characteristics of the first artist. FIG. 10 is a diagram used to explain the processing of the artist characteristic extraction unit of the character generation device according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 10 , assume that a second track B1 created by a second artist is overlaid on a first track A1 created by the first artist. In this case, the artist characteristic extraction unit 133 extracts artist characteristics of the second artist based on profile information PB1 of the second artist who created the second track B1 overlaid on the first track A1 created by the first artist. The artist characteristic extraction unit 133 may then calculate a weighted average of the artist characteristics of the first artist and the artist characteristics of the second artist as the artist characteristics of the first artist that reflect the artist characteristics of the second artist.

[0060] 10, suppose that track B2 produced by a second artist is overlaid on track D1 produced by a third artist. In this case, the artist characteristic extraction unit 133 determines the artist characteristic of the second artist as the artist characteristic of the second artist by taking a weighted average of the artist characteristic of the first artist calculated from the profile information of the first artist, the artist characteristic of the third artist calculated from the profile information of the third artist, and the artist characteristic calculated from the profile information of the second artist. In this way, the artist characteristic extraction unit 133 reflects the artist characteristic of the artist of the track onto which the artist has overlaid their track in their own artist characteristic.

[0061] The track feature extraction unit 134 extracts track features from tracks created by the first artist. Track features are track features expressed as numerical values, and the numerical values ​​correspond to features related to the properties of the track (rhythm, timbre, tempo, intonation, etc.). The track feature extraction unit 134 reads track data corresponding to the artist ID from the track information storage unit 121, extracts features such as rhythm, timbre, tempo, and intonation using techniques such as Fourier transform and fast Fourier transform (FFT), and reads track features from a database in which these features correspond to each other, thereby extracting the track features.

[0062] The track feature extraction unit 134 further extracts track features of the second track onto which the first track is superimposed. Specifically, the track feature extraction unit 134 extracts track features of the second track based on the second track onto which the first track created by the first artist is superimposed. Then, the track feature extraction unit 134 calculates the track feature of the first track reflecting the track feature of the second track based on the track feature of the first track and the track feature of the second track. For example, the track feature may be calculated by a weighted average. Specifically, the track feature of the first track reflecting the track feature of the second track may be calculated by multiplying the track feature of the first track by 0.8 and the track feature of the second track by 0.2.

[0063] The overlapping track number determination unit 135 determines whether the number of other tracks overlapped on the first track created by the first artist exceeds a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold here may be set arbitrarily, for example, to 10 tracks. That is, each time the track overlapping unit 132 overlaps a track on another track, the overlapping track number determination unit 135 calculates a value obtained by adding one to the total number of other tracks overlapped on the previously overlapped track, and determines whether this value exceeds the predetermined threshold. If the overlapping track number determination unit 135 determines that the number of other tracks has exceeded the predetermined threshold, it instructs the character generation unit 136, which will be described later, to generate a character.

[0064] The character generation unit 136 determines a character of the first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist features and the track features, and generates the character. Specifically, referring to FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. 9, the constituent elements of the character layer are stored in the character information storage unit 123, each associated with a numerical value of the artist feature or a numerical value of the track feature. Therefore, for example, in the case of the instrument in layer 1, if the artist feature related to the main instrument played is 4, the character image of "guitar" associated with 4 is read out. Similarly, for the other layers, character images of the constituent elements associated with the artist features and track features are read out, and the character images of the read constituent elements are combined to finally generate a character.

[0065] The character generation unit 136 may calculate character characteristics of the first artist based on the part attributes of the first track, the track features of the first track, and the artist features of the first artist, read one piece of character information based on the character characteristics from the character information storage unit 123, determine it as a character of the first artist, and generate a character. That is, the character information storage unit 123 may store part attributes in association with components of a character layer. The character generation unit 136 may generate a character of the first artist based on the part attributes of the first track in addition to the track features of the first track and the artist features of the first artist.

[0066] The character sales unit 137 converts the characters generated by the character generation unit 136 into NFTs and accepts purchase requests from users. An NFT (Non-Fungible Token), also known as a non-fungible token, is a non-fungible unit of data stored on a blockchain. By associating an NFT with character image data, the character image can be certified as non-fungible. The character sales unit 137 may upload and register a character image to an external NFT marketplace, associate an NFT with the character image, and sell the character image associated with the NFT. An example of an NFT marketplace is OpenSea. When a character transaction is completed from the external NFT marketplace, the character sales unit 137 receives a notification indicating that the character transaction has been completed. The character sales unit 137 then returns profits from the sale of the character to the artist who generated the character. For example, the character sales unit 137 may return profits to the artist by transferring points or electronic money to the artist's account.

[0067] The input unit 140 accepts various types of operation information. For example, the input unit 140 may accept various types of operation information using various switches, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. Alternatively, the input unit 140 may accept various types of operation information via a display surface of a touch panel.

[0068] Display unit 150 displays various types of information. For example, display unit 150 may display a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for executing various processes of character generation device 100. Display unit 150 may be realized by a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, a micro LED (Light Emitting Diode) display, or the like.

[0069] (Character generation method and program) Next, a character generation method and program using character generation device 100 described above will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the character generation method according to the present disclosure. Below, the character generation method according to the present disclosure will be described along the flow shown in Fig. 11.

[0070] First, character generation device 100 accepts input of profile information associated with artist registration from a user who is an artist (step S101). Next, character generation device 100 registers an egg image to the account of the user whose artist registration has been accepted (step S102). The egg image indicates that the registration of tracks created by the user has not yet been completed, signifying that the artist is still in the egg stage. Next, character generation device 100 accepts the registration of tracks created by the user and the track ID of the track to be superimposed (step S103). Note that steps S101 to S103 involve artist registration, egg assignment, track creation, and connection not only by the first artist, but also by multiple other artists.

[0071] Next, character generation device 100 determines whether the number of other tracks superimposed on the first track of the first artist exceeds a predetermined threshold (step S104). If the number of other tracks superimposed on the first track of the first artist exceeds the predetermined threshold (step S104: Yes), character generation device 100 extracts artist features of the first artist and track features of the first track, and then generates a character based on at least one of them (step S105). Next, character generation device 100 assigns the generated character to the profile information of the first artist (step S106).

[0072] In step S104, if the number of other tracks superimposed on the first track of the first artist does not exceed the predetermined threshold (step S104: No), the character generation device 100 returns to step S103 and executes the subsequent processes.

[0073] This allows a character that reflects the characteristics of an artist to be generated based on the artist characteristics and track characteristics, thereby providing a character generation method and program that can generate a character that shows proof of supporting an artist.

[0074] (About character NFTs) Next, the conversion of a character generated by the character generation device 100 into an NFT, its sale, and profit return will be described using Figure 12. Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the conversion of a character generated by the character generation device according to the present disclosure into an NFT, its sale, and profit return. Below, the flow of the conversion of a character into an NFT, its sale, and profit return will be described in accordance with the flow shown in Figure 12.

[0075] First, the character generation device 100 adds the generated character to the artist's profile information (step S201). Next, the character generation device 100 registers the generated character in the NFT marketplace (step S202). After registering the generated character in the NFT marketplace, the character generation device 100 receives a notification that the character has been sold if the NFTized character is sold from the NFT marketplace. Next, the character generation device 100 determines whether the character has been sold (step S203). If the character has been sold (step S203: Yes), the character generation device 100 returns the profits from the sale to the artist (step S204). The method for returning the profits from the sale may be points that can be used in a predetermined e-commerce service or charging electronic money. Then, the character generation device 100 adds an egg to the profile information of the artist to whom the profits from the sale have been returned (step S205).

[0076] If it is determined in step S203 that the NFTed character has not been sold (step S203: No), the character generation device 100 returns to step S202 and waits for notification from the NFT marketplace that the character has been sold.

[0077] This allows characters that reflect artist features and track features to be registered on the NFT marketplace, linked to NFTs, and sold, with profits from the sale being returned to the artist. Therefore, it is possible to provide a character generation method and program that generates a character that shows proof of support for an artist and that can return profits from the sale of the character.

[0078] (Regarding truck registration) Next, the flow of registering tracks created by an artist will be explained using Fig. 13. Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for registering tracks by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. Below, the flow of processing for registering tracks by the character generation device will be explained along the flow shown in Fig. 13.

[0079] First, character generation device 100 accepts registration of a track created by an artist (step S301). Next, character generation device 100 accepts input of profile information such as the artist's part attributes (step S302). Next, character generation device 100 extracts track features based on the track created by the artist (step S303). Next, character generation device 100 extracts artist features based on the artist's profile information (step S304). Next, character generation device 100 overlays the received track on the track to be overlaid, based on the track ID of the track to be overlaid received from the artist (step S305).

[0080] This allows tracks produced by artists to be registered and artist features and track features to be extracted.

[0081] (Regarding the reflection of the artist's features) Next, the reflection of the feature amounts of the artist of the superimposition destination on the artist feature amounts of the first artist will be described with reference to Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for reflecting the feature amounts of the artist of the superimposition destination on the artist feature amounts by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. Below, the processing for reflecting the artist feature amounts of the artist who created the track of the superimposition destination on the artist feature amounts of the first artist by the character generation device 100 will be described with reference to the flow shown in Fig. 14.

[0082] First, the character generation device 100 overlays the received track on the destination track based on the destination track ID received from the first artist (step S401). Next, the character generation device 100 calculates artist features (step S402). Specifically, the character generation device 100 calculates the artist features of the destination artist based on the profile information of the destination artist, and then calculates artist features that reflect the characteristics of both the destination artist and the first artist based on the artist features of the destination artist. For example, a weighted average of the two may be used as the artist feature of the first artist.

[0083] This allows the artist feature amount of the artist of the overlap destination to be calculated and reflected in the artist feature amount of the first artist.

[0084] (Regarding the reflection of the feature values ​​of the target track) Next, how the feature amounts of the track to be superimposed are reflected in the track feature amounts will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for reflecting the feature amounts of the track to be superimposed in the track feature amounts by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. Below, the processing for reflecting the feature amounts of the track to be superimposed in the track feature amounts by character generation device 100 will be described with reference to the flow shown in Fig. 15.

[0085] First, the character generation device 100 overlays the received first track onto the destination track based on the destination track ID received from the artist (step S501). Next, the character generation device 100 calculates track features (step S502). Specifically, the character generation device 100 calculates the destination track feature based on the destination track, and calculates the track feature of the first track that reflects the features of both the destination track feature and the track feature of the first track to be overlaid. For example, a weighted average of the two may be used as the track feature of the first track.

[0086] This allows the track feature amount of the overlapping track to be calculated and reflected in the track feature amount of the first track.

[0087] (Reflections on artist characteristics when overlaid on an artist's track) Next, the process of reflecting artist characteristics when tracks are superimposed by the character generation device 100 according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process of reflecting artist characteristics when tracks are superimposed by the character generation device according to the present disclosure. Below, the process of reflecting the characteristics of the artist who created the tracks to be superimposed by the character generation device 100 on the artist characteristics will be described with reference to the flow shown in Fig. 16.

[0088] First, after accepting track registration from an artist, the character generation device 100 waits for track overlapping by other artists and then accepts track overlapping (step S601). Next, the character generation device 100 determines whether track overlapping has been accepted from other artists (step S602). If track overlapping from other artists has been accepted (step S602: Yes), the character generation device 100 calculates artist features (step S603). Specifically, the character generation device 100 calculates artist features of the artists of the overlapped tracks based on the profile information of the artists of the overlapped tracks, and calculates artist features that reflect both the artist features of the first artist and the artist features of the artists of the overlapped tracks. For example, the character generation device 100 calculates a weighted average of both. Next, the character generation device 100 determines whether the number of overlapped tracks exceeds a predetermined threshold (step S604). If the number of overlapped tracks exceeds the predetermined threshold (step S604: Yes), the character generation device 100 ends the process of reflecting the artist features of the artists of the overlapped tracks.

[0089] If no tracks have been received from other artists in step S602 (step S602: No), the character generation device 100 returns to step S601 and waits for the connection of tracks from other artists.

[0090] Also, in step S604, if the number of overlapped tracks does not exceed the predetermined threshold (step S604: No), the character generation device 100 returns to step S601 and waits for a track connection from another artist.

[0091] This allows the artist characteristics of the artist who produced the track that is overlaid on the track of the artist to be appropriately reflected in the artist characteristics of the first artist.

[0092] (Reflections on track characteristics when overlaid on an artist's track) Next, the process of reflecting track feature amounts when overlapping performed by character generation device 100 according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the process flow of reflecting track feature amounts when overlapping performed by character generation device 100 according to the present disclosure. Below, the process of reflecting track feature amounts when overlapping performed by character generation device 100 will be described with reference to the flow shown in Fig. 17.

[0093] First, after accepting track registration from an artist, the character generation device 100 waits for track overlaps from other artists and then accepts track overlaps (step S701). Next, the character generation device 100 determines whether track overlaps have been accepted from other artists (step S702). If track overlaps from other artists have been accepted (step S702: Yes), the character generation device 100 calculates track feature amounts (step S703). Specifically, the character generation device 100 calculates track feature amounts for the overlapped tracks based on the overlapped tracks, and calculates track feature amounts that reflect both the track feature amounts of the track created by the first artist and the track feature amounts of the overlapped tracks based on the track feature amounts of the track created by the first artist. Next, the character generation device 100 determines whether the number of overlapped tracks exceeds a predetermined threshold (step S704). If the number of overlapped tracks exceeds the predetermined threshold (step S704: Yes), the character generation device 100 ends the process of reflecting the overlapped tracks in the track feature amounts.

[0094] This allows the track feature amount of the track superimposed on the artist's track to be appropriately reflected in the track feature amount of the track produced by the first artist.

[0095] It is possible to choose either the artist characteristics of the artists who have been connected, or the track characteristics of the tracks. Characters generated based on these artist characteristics and track characteristics will include not only the artist characteristics of the artist, but also information on the connections and connected destinations, which will appropriately represent the artist's activity history and be of great value to the artist's fans.

[0096] (User terminal configuration) Next, the configuration of user terminal 200 according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 18. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a user terminal according to the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 18, user terminal 200 according to the present disclosure includes a communication unit 210, a storage unit 220, a control unit 230, a sound input / output unit 240, and a display unit 250. Below, these components will be described in order.

[0097] The communication unit 210 is a communication module that enables the user terminal 200 to communicate with external devices. The communication unit 210 is responsible for sending and receiving data to and from external devices via wireless or wired communication. In the case of wireless communication, the communication unit 210 may be equipped with a communication antenna, an RF circuit, a wireless LAN card, or other communication processing circuits. In the case of wired communication, the communication unit 210 may be equipped with, for example, a NIC equipped with a wired LAN terminal, a transmission circuit, or other communication processing circuits.

[0098] The storage unit 220 is a storage device that stores various types of information. The storage unit 220 includes a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device. The main storage device may be realized by a semiconductor memory element such as RAM, ROM, or flash memory. The auxiliary storage device may be realized by a hard disk, SSD, optical disk, or the like.

[0099] 11, the storage unit 220 includes a track information storage unit 221. The information stored in this configuration will be described below.

[0100] Track information storage unit 221 stores information related to tracks created by users. The information items stored in track information storage unit 221 are the same as the information items stored in track information storage unit 121 of character generation device 100, except that "target track ID" and "target track ID" are not stored, so a description of the information items stored in track information storage unit 221 will be omitted.

[0101] The control unit 230 is a controller that manages and controls the user terminal 200. The control unit 230 is realized by a CPU, an MPU, or the like executing various programs stored in the storage unit 220 using RAM as a work area. The control unit 230 may also be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA.

[0102] As shown in Fig. 18, the control unit 230 includes an acquisition unit 231, a reception unit 232, and a provision unit 233. The control unit 230 realizes these functions and executes these processes by reading and executing a program (software) from the storage unit 220. Note that these functions of the control unit 230 may be realized by electronic circuits. Furthermore, the control unit 230 may execute these processes using one CPU, or may be provided with multiple CPUs and execute these processes in parallel. Below, these components will be described in order.

[0103] The acquisition unit 231 acquires tracks created by a user. For example, the acquisition unit 231 acquires, as tracks, sounds input via the sound input / output unit 240, which will be described later. The acquisition unit 231 may also acquire tracks from an external device via the communication unit 210.

[0104] The receiving unit 232 receives a track distribution request from a user. For example, the receiving unit 232 may cause the display unit 250 to display a track distribution request reception screen, and receive the track distribution request from the user.

[0105] The providing unit 233 provides the track to the user. For example, the providing unit 233 may provide the track to the user by causing the sound of the track distributed from the character generation device 100 to be output by the sound input / output unit 240 and causing the display unit 250 to display a distribution screen for the track.

[0106] The sound input / output unit 240 inputs and outputs various types of sound. That is, the sound input / output unit 240 has the function of a microphone and the function of a speaker. For example, the sound input / output unit 240 may output the sound of a track. Furthermore, the sound input / output unit 240 may receive input of voice or the sound of a musical instrument via a microphone.

[0107] The display unit 250 displays various types of information. For example, the display unit 250 may display a track distribution screen, a distribution reception screen, etc. The display unit 250 may be realized by a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a micro LED display, etc.

[0108] (Composition and Effects) The character generation device 100 according to the present disclosure includes an artist feature extraction unit 133 that extracts artist features based on profile information of the first artist, a track feature extraction unit 134 that extracts track features from a first track created by the first artist, and a character generation unit 136 that determines a character for the first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist features and the track features, and generates the character.

[0109] This configuration allows the character of the first artist to be determined and generated based on at least one of the artist features and the track features, thereby providing a character generation device 100 that can generate a character that shows proof of supporting an artist.

[0110] The character generation device 100 according to the present disclosure further includes an information acquisition unit 131 that receives part attributes, which are information indicating the attributes of the music of a first track created by a first artist, and the character generation unit 136 generates a character of the first artist based on the part attributes of the first track, the track features of the first track, and the artist features of the first artist.

[0111] According to this configuration, the character characteristics of the first artist can be calculated based on the part attributes of the first artist, the feature amounts of the first track, and the feature amounts of the first artist, and a character can be generated according to the character characteristics. As a result, a character that better reflects the artist's characteristics can be generated. Therefore, it is possible to provide a character generation device 100 that can generate a character that shows proof of supporting an artist.

[0112] The artist feature extraction unit 133 of the character generation device 100 according to the present disclosure further extracts artist features of the second artist from the profile information of the second artist who created the second track onto which the first track is overlaid, and reflects these in the artist features of the first artist, and the track feature extraction unit 134 further extracts track features of the second track onto which the first track is overlaid, and reflects these in the track features of the first track.

[0113] According to this configuration, the artist characteristics of the second artist who created the second track onto which the first track is overlaid can be calculated from the profile information of the second artist, and the calculated artist characteristics can be reflected in the artist characteristics of the first artist. Furthermore, the track characteristics of the second track onto which the first track is overlaid can be extracted and reflected in the track characteristics of the first track. Therefore, by generating a character based on these, it is possible to generate a character that appropriately reflects the artist's activities. Therefore, it is possible to provide a character generation device 100 that can generate a character that shows proof of support for an artist.

[0114] The character generation method according to the present disclosure includes the steps of extracting artist characteristics from profile information of a first artist, extracting track characteristics from a first track created by the first artist, and determining a character for the first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist characteristics and the track characteristics, and generating the character.

[0115] According to this configuration, a character of the first artist can be determined and generated based on at least one of the artist feature values ​​and the track feature values, thereby providing a character generation method that can generate a character that shows proof of supporting an artist.

[0116] The program according to the present disclosure causes a computer to execute the steps of extracting artist characteristics from profile information of a first artist, extracting track characteristics from a first track created by the first artist, and determining a character of the first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist characteristics and the track characteristics, and generating the character.

[0117] This configuration allows a character to be generated by determining the character of the first artist based on at least one of the artist feature values ​​and the track feature values, thereby providing a program that can generate a character that shows proof of supporting an artist.

[0118] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments are not limited to the contents of these embodiments. Furthermore, the above-described components include those that can be easily imagined by a person skilled in the art, those that are substantially the same, and those that are within the scope of what is called equivalents. Furthermore, the above-described components can be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the above-described embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0119] 100 Character Generation Device 110 Communications Department 120 Storage section 121 Track information storage unit 122 Profile information storage unit 123 Character information storage unit 130 Control Unit 131 Information Acquisition Department 132 Truck Overlap 133 Artist Feature Extraction Unit 134 Truck feature extraction unit 135 Overlap track number determination unit 136 Character Generation Unit 137 Character Sales Department 140 Input section 150 Display section 200 user terminals 210 Communications Department 220 Storage section 221 Track information storage unit 230 Control Unit 231 Acquisition Department 232 Reception Department 233 Provision Department 240 Sound input / output section 250 Display section N Network

Claims

1. an artist feature extraction unit that extracts artist features based on profile information of the first artist; a track feature extraction unit that extracts track features from a first track created by a first artist; a character generation unit that determines a character of a first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist feature amount and the track feature amount, and generates the character; Character generation device.

2. an information acquisition unit that receives part attributes, which are information indicating attributes of music of the first track created by the first artist; The character generation unit generating a character of the first artist based on the part attributes of the first track, the track features of the first track, and the artist features of the first artist; The character generation device according to claim 1 .

3. The artist feature extraction unit further The artist characteristics of the second artist who created the second track that the first track is overlaid on are extracted from the profile information of the second artist, and reflected in the artist characteristics of the first artist. The track feature extraction unit further The track feature of the second track onto which the first track is superimposed is extracted and reflected in the track feature of the first track. The character generation device according to claim 2 .

4. and a character sales unit that converts the character generated by the character generation unit into an NFT and accepts purchase requests from users. The character generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. extracting artist features from profile information of a first artist; extracting track features from a first track created by a first artist; and generating a character by determining a character of a first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist characteristics and the track characteristics. How to generate a character.

6. extracting artist features from profile information of a first artist; extracting track features from a first track created by a first artist; generating a character by determining a character of a first artist who created the first track based on at least one of the artist characteristics and the track characteristics; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

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