Program, information processing device, information processing system, and information processing method

Abstract

The present invention provides a program for playing music on a listener device, an information processing device, an information processing system, and an information processing method, without requiring any usage fees. [Solution] The program of the distribution server device causes one or more computers to execute a distribution step of distributing the distributor's voice to a listener device used by the listener; a service identification step of identifying the music service used by the listener by referring to a storage unit that stores the identification information of the listener using the listener device and the music service used by the listener in association; and a first song transmission step of sending a playback instruction for the target song to the listener device at the timing of song playback in the distribution, along with metadata of the target song to be played used in the music service identified in the service identification step.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program, an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing method.

Background Art

[0002] In conventional radio distribution, when streaming a music piece, it was necessary to pay a copyright royalty for that music piece. For example, it was common for a distribution service provider to conclude a blanket license with a copyright management organization for music (e.g., JASRAC) and pay a royalty according to the number of times the music was played on the distribution service.

[0003] Also, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for playing a music piece from another source that the user owns and has better sound quality than the currently broadcast music piece when watching a music piece being broadcast on digital radio.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, when providing music on the radio, there was a problem that the distributor or the distribution service provider had to bear the royalty.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to play a music piece on a listener device without bearing the royalty.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To solve the above problems, a program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a program that causes one or more computers to execute: a distribution step of distributing the broadcaster's voice to a listener device used by a listener; a service identification step of identifying the music service used by a listener by referring to a storage unit that stores in association the identification information of the listener using the listener device and the music service used by the listener; and a first song transmission step of transmitting a playback instruction for the target song to the listener device at the timing of song playback during distribution, along with metadata of the target song to be played, which is used in the music service identified in the service identification step. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, music can be played on a listener device without incurring any usage fees. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the overall system configuration. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the software configuration of the distribution server device. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the data structure of the listener database. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the data structure of a music database. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the data structure of the distribution database. [Figure 6] This is a sequence diagram showing the distribution process. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings illustrating the embodiments, common components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations are omitted. The following embodiments are not intended to unduly limit the content of this disclosure as described in the claims. Not all components shown in the embodiments are necessarily essential components of this disclosure. Also, each drawing is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily a strict illustration.

[0011] Furthermore, in the following description, "processor" refers to one or more processors. At least one processor is typically a microprocessor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may be another type of processor such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). At least one processor may be single-core or multi-core.

[0012] Furthermore, at least one processor may be a broad-sense processor, such as a hardware circuit that performs some or all of the processing (e.g., an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)).

[0013] In the following explanation, two or more programs may be implemented as a single program, or one program may be implemented as two or more programs.

[0014] Furthermore, various types of identification information are used in the following explanation, but the identification information is not particularly limited; it may be an identification number, or an identifier that includes letters or symbols.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the system 1 of the present embodiment. The system 1 performs processing for providing music to a distributor. The system 1 includes a distribution server device 10, a listener device 20, a distributor device 30, and a music service device 40. The distribution server device 10, the listener device 20, the distributor device 30, and the music service device 40 are communicably connected via a network N.

[0016] In the distributor device 30, when the distributor makes a speech or the like, the speech or the like is collected, and the voice data is transmitted to the distribution server device 10. The distribution server device 10 receives the voice data from the distributor device 30 and distributes this voice data to the listener device 20. When the listener device 20 receives the voice data, it plays it back. The music service device 40 transmits the music voice to the listener device 20. The music is played back on the listener device 20.

[0017] In FIG. 1, only one listener device 20 is shown, but the system 1 includes a plurality of listener devices 20. Also, the system 1 includes a plurality of distributor devices 30. Also, the system 1 includes a plurality of music service devices 40.

[0018] The distribution server device 10 includes a processor 11, a memory 12, a storage 13, a communication IF 14, and an input / output IF 15. The distribution server device 10 is an example of an information processing device.

[0019] The processor 11 is hardware for executing an instruction set described in a program, and is composed of an arithmetic unit, registers, peripheral circuits, and the like. The memory 12 is for temporarily storing programs, data, and the like, and is a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). The storage 13 is for storing data, and is, for example, a flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disc Drive). The communication IF 14 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals in order to communicate with an external device wired or wirelessly. The input / output IF 15 functions as an interface with an input device for receiving an input operation from a user and an output device for presenting information to the user.

[0020] The listener device 20 is an information processing device used by a listener who listens to a distribution by a distributor using the distributor device 30. The listener device 20 includes a processor 21, a memory 22, a storage 23, a communication IF 24, an input unit 25, and an output unit 26.

[0021] The processor 21, the memory 22, the storage 23, and the communication IF 24 are each similar in configuration to the processor 11, the memory 12, the storage 13, and the communication IF 14 of the distribution server device 10. The input unit 25 is a device for receiving an input operation from a user (for example, a pointing device such as a touch panel, a touch pad, a mouse, etc., a keyboard, etc.). The input unit 25 may also be a microphone. The output unit 26 outputs various types of information. The output unit 26 includes a speaker and a display unit. The speaker outputs sound.

[0022] The distributor device 30 is an information processing device used by a distributor. The hardware configuration of the distributor device 30 is the same as the hardware configuration of the listener device 20.

[0023] The music service device 40 provides music to users who have subscribed to a music service. The hardware configuration of the music service device 40 is the same as that of the distribution server device 10. Examples of music services include Apple Music® and Spotify®.

[0024] Figure 2 shows the software configuration of the distribution server device 10. As shown in Figure 2, the distribution server device 10 comprises a control unit 100 and a storage unit 110. The control unit 100 is implemented by executing a program stored in the storage 13, etc. The storage unit 110 is implemented by the storage 13, etc.

[0025] The memory unit 110 stores the listener database (DB) 111. The listener DB 111 stores information about listeners who listen to the broadcast. The music DB 112 stores information about music provided to listeners. The broadcast DB 113 stores information about broadcasts made by broadcasters.

[0026] Figure 3 shows an example of the data structure of the Listener DB111. The Listener DB111 stores the Listener ID, Listener Information, Contracted Service, and Played Songs in association with each other. The Listener ID is the listener's identification information. It contains information about the listener's profile. The Listener Information includes the listener's handle name, birthday, gender, activity area, etc. The Contracted Service includes identification information of the music service the listener is subscribed to. The Played Songs include the Song ID, which identifies the song the listener has played while listening to the broadcasts so far, and the date and time of playback. The Listener DB111 stores multiple records, and each record contains listener information for multiple listeners.

[0027] Figure 4 shows an example of the data structure of the music database 112. The music database 112 stores the music ID, song, artist, playback history, playback count, and metadata in association with each other. The music ID is the identification information of the song. The song is the title of the song, and the artist is the name of the artist who sings the song. The playback history is information indicating the date and time the song was played, and the playback count is the total number of times the song has been played. The metadata includes metadata that each music service uses to identify the song. The metadata includes the music ID and song title, etc. In other words, the metadata includes multiple pieces of metadata corresponding to multiple music services. The music database 112 stores multiple records, and each record contains song information for multiple songs.

[0028] Figure 5 shows an example of the data structure of the distribution DB113. The distribution DB113 stores the distribution ID, distribution title, distributor information, archive, and playback information in association with each other. The distribution ID is identification information used to identify each distribution. Distributor information is information related to the distributor. Distributor information includes the distributor's name, avatar, SNS account, etc. Archive is archive information such as MC voice. Playback information is information related to the playback of the distribution. Playback information includes the number of times the distribution has been played, the number of listeners, the playback time of the distribution, etc.

[0029] Returning to Figure 2, the control unit 100 of the distribution server device 10 includes a communication processing unit 101, a service identification unit 102, a metadata identification unit 103, and an output processing unit 104. The communication processing unit 101 sends and receives various information via the communication IF 14. The service identification unit 102 identifies the music service that the listener is subscribed to. The metadata identification unit 103 identifies the metadata of the song. The output processing unit 104 controls the output of data.

[0030] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing the distribution process performed by the broadcaster. As a prerequisite, the listener accesses the distribution server device 10 using the distribution application installed on the listener device 20. At this time, the listener's listener ID, authenticated by the distribution application, is sent to the distribution server device 10. The distribution server device 10 can then identify the listener to whom the audio should be distributed.

[0031] In the distribution process, first, the broadcaster device 30 starts broadcasting audio (step S100). As a result, the broadcaster's speech is transmitted to the distribution server device 10 via the network N (step S102). Next, the communication processing unit 101 of the distribution server device 10 starts transmitting the audio received from the broadcaster device 30 to the listener device 20 to be broadcast (step S104). As a result, the audio is broadcast to the listener.

[0032] The broadcaster provides audio to listeners in a program such as a radio program. This radio program may also play music. A list of songs to be played, indicating the song IDs of the songs to be played in this program, is pre-stored in the storage unit 110 of the broadcast server device 10. This list of songs to be played is transmitted to the broadcaster device 30, and if the broadcaster wishes to play a song, they select the song to be played from this list via the input unit. The broadcaster device 30 accepts the broadcaster's song selection (step S106). The broadcaster device 30 then transmits the song ID of the selected song, i.e., the song to be played, to the broadcast server device 10 (step S108).

[0033] Furthermore, the distribution server device 10 sends a list of songs stored in the song database 112 to the distributor device 30, and the distributor may select the song they wish to play from the song list.

[0034] When the communication processing unit 101 of the distribution server device 10 receives the song ID of the target song from the distribution device 30, the service identification unit 102 then refers to the listener DB 111 and identifies the music service associated with the listener ID of each listener to be distributed, that is, the music service that each listener is subscribed to (step S110). Next, the metadata identification unit 103 refers to the song DB 112 and identifies the metadata of the target song that corresponds to the music service that the listener is subscribed to (step S112). Next, the communication processing unit 101 sends a playback instruction for the target song along with the metadata of the target song to the listener device 20 (step S114).

[0035] When the listener device 20 receives metadata and a playback instruction for a target song, it transmits this metadata and playback instruction to the music service device 40 that provides the contracted music service (step S116). When the music service device 40 receives metadata and a playback instruction for a target song, it identifies the song based on the metadata (step S118). Next, the music service device 40 transmits the audio data of the identified song to the listener device 20 (step S120). In the listener device 20, when the speaker of the output unit 26 acquires the audio data, it outputs the audio data for playback (step S122).

[0036] Thus, in this embodiment, when a broadcaster provides music during a broadcast, the broadcast server device 10 does not transmit the audio data of the music from the broadcast server device 10, but rather the listener uses their subscribed music service to play the audio data of the music on the listener device 20. This allows the broadcast server device 10 to create a situation where the listener listening to the broadcast feels as if they are listening to the music being played in the audio broadcast. Furthermore, since the broadcast server device 10 does not distribute the music itself, there is no need to pay any usage fees.

[0037] Furthermore, there are cases where the broadcaster stops playback midway through a song. In this case, a stop instruction is sent from the broadcaster device 30 to the broadcast server device 10, and the stop instruction is sent from the broadcast server device 10 to the listener device 20. Upon receiving the stop instruction, the listener device 20 stops playback of the song in accordance with the instruction. This allows the listener device 20 to stop playback of the song at the timing intended by the broadcaster.

[0038] Once the music playback ends, the MC segment by the broadcaster begins. Furthermore, in the broadcast server device 10, the control unit 100 updates the playback history and playback count of the target song in the music database 112 after sending the playback instruction (step S124). In this way, the control unit 100 counts the playback count for each song and records the playback count in the music database 112. Note that the process of updating the playback history and playback count can be performed from step S114 onwards and is not limited to this embodiment.

[0039] Furthermore, once distribution is complete, the control unit 100 of the distribution server device 10 stores the distribution information in the distribution DB 113. Specifically, the control unit 100 issues a new distribution ID and registers the distribution title, distributor information, and archive in the distribution DB 113, associating them with the distribution ID. Playback information is updated each time the archive is played back, according to the playback.

[0040] Next, archive playback will be explained. Listeners can listen to archived broadcasts of programs such as radio shows distributed by broadcasters. The listener device 20 sends information that identifies the archive, such as the broadcast title, to the broadcast server device 10. Based on the information that identifies the archive, the broadcast server device 10 identifies the archive in the broadcast DB 113 and sends it to the listener device 20. In this archive broadcast as well, the processing of steps S100 to S122, as explained with reference to Figure 6, is executed. As a result, even in archive broadcasts, when it is time to play the target song, the broadcast server device 10 sends a playback instruction along with the metadata of the target song to the listener device 20. Therefore, instead of the broadcast server device 10 transmitting the audio data of the song from the broadcast server device 10, the listener can use the music service that the listener has subscribed to to play the audio data of the song on the listener device 20.

[0041] There may be cases where the listener does not have a subscription to a music service that can play the target song. In this case, the distribution server device 10 sends a predetermined song to the listener device 20. During the period in which the target song is played, the listener device 20 plays a song other than the target song. Furthermore, in this case, a voice message may be output informing the listener that they can listen to the target song by subscribing to a music service.

[0042] As described above, in the system 1 according to this embodiment, the distribution server device 10 identifies the music service used by the listener and, at the timing of music playback, transmits the metadata of the target song and a playback instruction to the listener device 20. Based on the metadata, the listener device 20 can obtain the audio data of the target song from the music service device 40 and play it. Therefore, the distribution server device 10 can play music on the listener device 20 without incurring any usage fees.

[0043] A first modification of the embodiment will now be described. The distribution server device 10 may be configured as an information processing system consisting of multiple devices. In this case, the processing of the distribution server device 10 is divided and executed by the multiple devices.

[0044] As a second variation, the distribution server device 10 may provide services to listeners based on the number of times a song has been played, as stored in the song database 112. In this case, the number of plays is recorded in the song database 112 for each listener, associated with the listener ID. When a listener's number of plays of a song exceeds a threshold, the distribution server device 10 provides the listener device 20 with services such as ticket discounts or concert seat upgrades for the artist whose song it is. This provides listeners with an incentive to listen to the song, and allows artists to increase their play count.

[0045] As a third variation, the distribution server device 10 may distribute images along with audio.

[0046] Furthermore, some or all of the above configurations, functions, processing units, and processing means may be implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. The functions of the present invention can also be implemented by software program code that realizes the functions of the embodiments. In this case, a storage medium containing the program code is provided to a computer, and the computer's processor reads the program code stored on the storage medium. In this case, the program code read from the storage medium itself realizes the functions of the embodiments described above, and the program code itself, as well as the storage medium storing it, constitute the present invention. Examples of storage media used to supply such program code include flexible disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, hard disks, SSDs, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, and ROMs.

[0047] Furthermore, the program code that implements the functions described in this embodiment can be implemented in a wide range of programming or scripting languages, such as assembler, C / C++, Perl, Shell, PHP, and Java (registered trademark).

[0048] Furthermore, the program code for the software that implements the functions of the embodiment may be distributed via a network and stored in a storage means such as a computer's hard disk or memory, or in a storage medium such as a CD-RW or CD-R, and the computer's processor may read and execute the program code stored in the storage means or storage medium.

[0049] While several embodiments of this disclosure have been described above, these embodiments can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications are permitted without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents.

[0050] (Note) The details described in each of the above embodiments are noted below.

[0051] (Note 1) On one or more computers, A distribution step that distributes the broadcaster's audio to the listener's device used by the listener, A service identification step involves identifying the music service used by the listener by referring to a storage unit that stores the identification information of the listener using the listener device in association with the music service used by the listener. A first music transmission step transmits a playback instruction for the target music to the listener device at the timing of music playback within the distribution, along with the metadata of the target music to be played, which is used in the music service identified in the service identification step. A program to execute.

[0052] (Note 2) In the first music transmission step described above, The program described in Appendix 1, wherein, in an audio distribution, when the distributor selects the target song from a song list indicating songs scheduled for distribution, a playback instruction for the target song is transmitted along with the metadata of the target song.

[0053] (Note 3) The program described in Appendix 1, which, after playback of the target song has started in the listener device in response to the playback instruction, receives a command to stop song playback, and further causes the program to execute a stop step of sending a stop command to the listener device.

[0054] (Note 4) The program described in Appendix 1, which, when the timing for playing the target song arrives during the playback of an archived audio stream by the aforementioned streamer, further executes a second song transmission step, which transmits a playback instruction for the target song along with the metadata of the target song to the listener device.

[0055] (Note 5) If the listener is not using the music service, the program described in Appendix 1 further causes a third music transmission step to be executed, which transmits a different song from the target song to the listener device at the timing of music playback.

[0056] (Note 6) A recording step in which, in response to the transmission of a playback instruction for the target song, the listener device counts the number of times each song has been played and records the number of plays in association with the identification information of the listener using the listener device, A service provision step that provides services based on the number of plays, The program described in Appendix 1 for further execution.

[0057] (Note 7) An information processing device comprising a communication processing unit and a service identification unit, The aforementioned communication processing unit distributes the broadcaster's voice to the listener device used by the listener. The service identification unit identifies the music service used by the listener by referring to a storage unit that stores the identification information of the listener using the listener device in association with the music service used by the listener. The communication processing unit is an information processing device that, at the timing of music playback during distribution, transmits a playback instruction for the target music to the listener device, along with metadata used in the music service identified for the target music to be played.

[0058] (Note 8) A distribution system comprising an audio distribution server device and an audio distribution listener device, The aforementioned distribution server device distributes the broadcaster's audio to listener devices used by listeners. The distribution server device identifies the music service used by the listener by referring to a storage unit that stores the identification information of the listener using the listener device in association with the music service used by the listener. The distribution server device, at the timing of music playback during distribution, transmits a playback instruction for the target music to the listener device, along with the metadata used in the music service identified by the target music, in the metadata of the target music to be played. The listener device receives the audio of the target song from the music service based on the metadata of the target song and the playback instruction. The listener device is an information processing system that outputs the target song as audio.

[0059] (Note 9) An information processing method performed by a computer having a control unit, The control unit performs a distribution step in which it distributes the broadcaster's voice to a listener device used by the listener, The control unit performs a service identification step in which it identifies the music service used by the listener by referring to a storage unit that stores the identification information of the listener using the listener device in association with the music service used by the listener. The control unit, at the timing of music playback during distribution, performs a first music transmission step in which it transmits a playback instruction for the target music to the listener device, along with the metadata of the target music to be played, which is used in the music service identified in the service identification step. Information processing methods, including those mentioned above. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0060] 1 System 10 Distribution Server Device 11 processors 12 memory 13 Storage 14 Communication IF 15 Input / Output Interfaces 20 Listener device 21 processors 22 memory 23 Storage 24 Communication IF 25 Input section 26 Output section 30 Distributor device 40 Music service equipment 100 Control Unit 101 Communication Processing Unit 102 Service Specific Department 103 Metadata Identification Section 104 Output Processing Unit 110 Storage section 111 Listener Database 112 Music Database 113 Distribution DB

Claims

1. On one or more computers, A distribution step that distributes the broadcaster's audio to the listener's device used by the listener, A service identification step involves referring to a storage unit that stores the identification information of a listener using the listener device and the music service the listener is subscribed to, thereby identifying the music service the listener is subscribed to. A program for executing a first music transmission step, which, at the timing of music playback during distribution, transmits a playback instruction for the target music to the listener device, along with the metadata of the target music to be played, which is used in the music service identified in the service identification step.

2. In the first music transmission step described above, The program according to claim 1, wherein, in a music list indicating music scheduled for distribution in audio distribution, when the distributionr selects the target music, a playback instruction for the target music is transmitted along with the metadata of the target music.

3. The program according to claim 1, which, after playback of the target song has started in the listener device in response to the playback instruction, receives a stop instruction to stop song playback, and further performs a stop step of transmitting a stop instruction to the listener device.

4. The program according to claim 1, which further causes a second music transmission step to be executed, in which, when it is time to play the target music during archive playback of an audio distribution by the aforementioned distributor, a playback instruction for the target music is sent to the listener device along with the metadata of the target music.

5. The program according to claim 1, further comprising, if the listener is not using the music service, causing the program to execute a third music transmission step of transmitting a different music from the target music to the listener device at the timing of music playback.

6. A recording step in which, in response to the transmission of a playback instruction for the target song, the listener device counts the number of times each song has been played and records the number of plays in association with the identification information of the listener using the listener device, The program according to claim 1, for further causing a service provision step to be performed, which provides a service based on the number of plays.

7. An information processing device comprising a communication processing unit and a service identification unit, The aforementioned communication processing unit distributes the broadcaster's voice to the listener device used by the listener. The service identification unit identifies the music service the listener is subscribed to by referring to a storage unit that stores the identification information of the listener using the listener device and the music service the listener is subscribed to, The communication processing unit is an information processing device that, at the timing of music playback during distribution, transmits a playback instruction for the target music to the listener device, along with metadata used in the music service identified for the target music to be played.

8. A distribution system comprising an audio distribution server device and an audio distribution listener device, The aforementioned distribution server device distributes the broadcaster's audio to listener devices used by listeners. The distribution server device identifies the music service that the listener is subscribed to by referring to a storage unit that stores the identification information of the listener using the listener device and the music service that the listener is subscribed to, The distribution server device, at the timing of music playback during distribution, transmits a playback instruction for the target music to the listener device, along with the metadata used in the music service identified by the target music, in the metadata of the target music to be played. The listener device receives the audio of the target song from the music service based on the metadata of the target song and the playback instruction. The listener device is an information processing system that outputs the target song as audio.

9. An information processing method performed by a computer having a control unit, The control unit performs a distribution step in which it distributes the broadcaster's voice to a listener device used by the listener, The control unit performs a service identification step in which it identifies the music service to which the listener has a contract by referring to a storage unit that stores the identification information of the listener using the listener device and the music service to which the listener has a contract; Information processing method comprising: a first music transmission step in which the control unit transmits a playback instruction for the target music to the listener device at the timing of music playback in the distribution, along with metadata of the target music to be played, which is used in the music service identified in the service identification step.

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