Fan club management device, method, and computer program

Abstract

The present invention achieves improving the degree of satisfaction of a fan and eliminating the financial difficulties of an artist altogether through the operation of a fan club.　A server, which is a fan club management device, transmits stock data that represents a stock signifying a status or a right as a member of a fan club to a user who wants to join the fan club. A member having joined the fan club within the initial offer period receives the transmission of the stock data for the primary stock. A primary member can introduce a candidate for a secondary member, the secondary member can introduce a candidate for a tertiary member, and an n-1 member can introduce a candidate for an n-th member to the fan club, respectively. The purchase price per share of the stock that the n-th member would purchase in order to join the fan club is made lower than that of the n-1th member.

Description

Fan club management device, method, and computer program

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for managing a fan club, which is a group of fans of an artist.

[0002] In this application, an "artist" is defined as a person (and of course includes a group of people) who provides creative works that can be converted into digital content and distributed to users (users are those who enjoy (or consume) the above-mentioned creative works, such as readers, viewers, etc.), such as poetry, novels, and other written works; manga, posters, and other still images; music videos, movies, and other moving images; and music, stand-up comedy, and other audio works. In the past, artists' main source of income was the sale of tangible objects on which the above-mentioned creative works were recorded. For example, novelists and manga artists earned income by selling books, and musicians earned income by selling CD-ROMs (Compact Disc - Read-only memory) or DVD-ROMs (Digital Versatile Disc - Read-only memory) on which music videos or music videos were recorded. However, advances in digital technology have changed the way users enjoy or consume creative works. For example, if the creative work is music, as is well known, the way audiences listen to music has changed from listening to music on CDs to streaming music via the Internet. As a result, CD sales have dropped significantly, as is also well known. As a result, the traditional business model of artists whose creative works are based on CD sales as their source of income has collapsed. Similarly, the traditional business model that was common sense for artists - generating revenue by selling tangible items such as CDs, DVDs, hardbacks, paperbacks, comic magazines, and manga books - has been forced to shrink across the board. This creates problems that go beyond individual artists. For example, if the artist is a musician, the above-mentioned issues are a problem for the entire music industry. The lack of funding for the music industry is causing a slowdown in the overall music industry.

[0003] While similar cases often exist, we will focus our discussion on the case of musicians. With the collapse of the business model of CD sales as the primary source of income, artists' primary sources of income have shifted to ticket sales for live performances in front of an audience, merchandise sales often associated with live performances, and fan club membership fees (which vary in type, including monthly and annual membership fees). Of these, collecting fan club membership fees is crucial for artists and fan clubs because it guarantees regular income with a certain degree of certainty. Furthermore, by offering various benefits to fan club members, the artist or the fan club can increase their satisfaction with the artist, thereby increasing their motivation to attend live performances and purchase merchandise. Therefore, fan clubs are extremely important for today's artists, and attracting many fans and increasing fan club member satisfaction are crucial.

[0004] However, as mentioned above, most conventional fan clubs are operated on a membership fee system. Of course, concert tickets and merchandise are sold through the fan club, but the reality is that the only money that fan club members pay to the fan club, rather than in exchange for other products or services, is basically the membership fee.

[0005] On the other hand, some fans are willing to pay more to artists directly or through fan clubs. This is evident in the recent popularity of the term "oshikatsu" in Japan. "oshikatsu" generally refers to the act of admiring and supporting one's favorite artists (although it is not limited to artists; in some cases, a favorite object may be a two-dimensional character in an animation). Support can involve non-financial expenditures, such as researching and learning more about one's favorite artist or spreading information about the artist widely through social media, or it can involve financial expenditures, such as attending live performances or purchasing merchandise. In recent years, YouTube (trademark) and other video streaming sites have implemented a feature known as "tipping" (trademark), which allows viewers to send a specified amount of money online to video streamers. Tipping provides a source of income for video streamers while satisfying viewers' desire to support their favorite artists, making it a win-win for both streamers and viewers. As such, even though some fans are willing to shoulder a financial burden on artists in order to support them, the reality is that there is nowhere for that money to go. On the other hand, as already mentioned, artists today, or the industries to which they belong (for example, the music industry if the artist is a musician), are often in financial difficulty as a result of the collapse of traditional business models.

[0006] In this situation, if it were possible to effectively build a relationship between fans and artists through a fan club, it would be possible to simultaneously improve fan satisfaction and alleviate the artist's financial difficulties by having fans pay the artist. If an artist becomes financially prosperous, they will have more capital to invest in creating their next creative work (for example, if the artist is a musician, this would be a song), which will increase the emotional impact fans receive from their next creative work, and this will have a positive effect on the relationship between the artist and their fans, as well as on the industry to which the artist belongs. The objective of the present invention is to provide technology for managing a fan club that can simultaneously improve fan satisfaction and alleviate the artist's financial difficulties through the operation of the fan club.

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors propose the following invention. The present invention is a fan club management device that manages a fan club, which is a group of fans who support a specific artist, by distributing shares representing membership in the fan club to the users in combination with a plurality of user terminals connected to a specific network and capable of communicating via the network. The fan club management device comprises a transmission / reception mechanism capable of communicating via the network, a rule recording unit that records the rules of the fan club, a member information recording unit that records, for each member, information about the shares held by the members, and an information processing unit that processes information based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit using data sent from the user terminal via the network by the transmission / reception mechanism. The information processing unit in the fan club management device also receives, during an initial recruitment period, which is a predetermined period after recruitment for members begins, X shares per share from the users who are not members via the user terminal and the network. １ The person sends an indication of their intention to purchase at a price of X and the number of shares they wish to purchase. １a primary stock management unit that decides to issue to the user the number of primary shares that the user wishes to purchase in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit when a payment calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares that the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, and records in the member information recording unit that the user is a primary member and the number of primary shares to be issued to the user; and a primary stock management unit that decides to issue to the user the number of primary shares that the user wishes to purchase in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit when a user who has been introduced by the primary member is defined as a secondary member candidate, a secondary member as a tertiary member candidate, ... a user who has been introduced by an n-1th member as an nth member candidate (where n is a natural number between 2 and N, and N is a predetermined natural number greater than or equal to 3), and ｎ The person sends an indication of their intention to purchase at a price of X and the number of shares they wish to purchase. ｎ and a lower-level stock management unit that, when payment of the price calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, decides to issue to the user the number of nth-order shares, which are a type of the stock, that the user wishes to purchase in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, and records in the member information recording unit that the user is an nth-order member, the number of the nth-order shares to be issued to the user, and information identifying the member who introduced the user; and a stock data generation unit that generates stock data corresponding to the primary shares that the primary stock management unit has decided to issue to the user, or the nth-order shares that the lower-level stock management unit has decided to issue to the user, and transmits the stock data via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network to the user terminal of the user who will become the owner of the shares corresponding to the stock data. In addition, according to the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, the price of the stock is set to X １ ≧X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ The above conditions are met.

[0008] This fan club management device is used in combination with a user terminal. The user terminal is owned by a user who is a member of a fan club for a certain artist managed by the fan club management device. The user terminal is capable of communicating over a network, such as a smartphone, mobile phone, or personal computer. The fan club management device is connected to the user terminal via a predetermined network. The network is typically the Internet, but may also include other networks such as a local area network (LAN). The fan club management device manages a fan club, which is a group of fans who support a certain artist, by distributing shares representing fan club membership to users. The definition of an artist has already been mentioned, but in this application, an artist is someone who provides users with creative works that can be converted into digital content and distributed, such as creative works using poetry, novels, or other written media, creative works using manga, posters, or other still images, creative works using music videos, movies, or other moving images, or creative works using music, comedy sketches, or other audio media. Note that the term "shares" used herein refers to the status or rights of a fan club member granted to a person recognized as a fan club member by the fan club management device of the present invention, rather than the status or rights of a member (shareholder) of a corporation. In other words, the "shares" used herein are not securities, such as ordinary securities that are the subject of investment, but rather a kind of membership card that symbolizes fan club membership. On the other hand, a user can own multiple shares despite their membership card-like nature. Furthermore, the shares used herein may be accompanied by status or rights, as described below. The fan club management device includes a transmission / reception mechanism capable of communicating via a network, a rule recording unit that records fan club rules, a member information recording unit that records information about the shares held by each member, and an information processing unit that processes information based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit using data sent from a user terminal via the transmission / reception mechanism via the network.The information processing unit includes a primary stock management unit, a lower-level stock management unit, and a stock data generation unit, or the information processing unit functions as a primary stock management unit, a lower-level stock management unit, and a stock data generation unit. The primary stock management unit has a function of managing stocks issued during an initial subscription period, which is a predetermined period after the start of member subscription. During the initial subscription period, the primary stock management unit receives stocks from non-member users via user terminals and a network at a price of X per share. １ The person sends an indication of their intention to purchase at a price of X and the number of shares they wish to purchase. １When the payment of the fee calculated by multiplying the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, the unit determines, in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, to issue the user with the number of primary shares, a type of stock, that the user wishes to purchase. Once this determination is made, the primary share management unit records in the member information recording unit that the user is a primary member and the number of primary shares to be issued to the user. In other words, the primary share management unit has the function of approving the issuance of primary shares to a user when a user expresses their intention to purchase shares, including the number of shares they wish to purchase, and the payment is made. The primary share management unit also records in the member information recording unit the number of primary shares issued to each user. The primary stock management unit had the function of deciding whether to issue primary stocks, while the lower-level stock management unit had the function of deciding whether to issue secondary stocks to secondary members, tertiary stocks to tertiary members, ..., and nth-level stocks to nth-level members (where n is a natural number between 2 and N, and N is a predetermined natural number greater than or equal to 3). A user introduced by a primary member is a candidate for a secondary member who will become a secondary member after meeting predetermined conditions, a user introduced by a secondary member is a candidate for a tertiary member who will become a tertiary member after meeting predetermined conditions, and a user introduced by an n-1th-level member is a candidate for an nth-level member who will become an nth-level member after meeting predetermined conditions. After the initial subscription period has ended, the lower-level stock management unit transfers stocks from users who are candidates for nth-level members who have been introduced by n-1th-level members via user terminals and networks at X per share. ｎ The person sends an indication of their intention to purchase at a price of X and the number of shares they wish to purchase. ｎWhen the payment calculated by multiplying the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, the rule recording unit determines to issue the user with the number of nth-order shares (a type of stock) the user wishes to purchase, in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit. The unit also records in the member information recording unit information identifying the user as an nth-order member, the number of nth-order shares to be issued to the user, and the member who introduced the user. In other words, when a user expresses their intention to purchase shares, including identifying the introducer and the number of shares to be purchased, and the payment is paid, the lower-level stock management unit has the function of approving the issuance of nth-order shares to the user if the introducer's shares are n-1th-order shares. The lower-level stock management unit also records in the member information recording unit how many nth-order shares have been issued to which user. Secondary shares and subsequent shares are collectively referred to as "lower-level shares," and secondary members and subsequent members are collectively referred to as "lower-level members." In addition, the numerical portions such as "1," "2," and "n" of terms such as primary shares, secondary shares, and nth-order shares, and the numerical portions such as "1," "2," and "n" of terms such as primary members, secondary members, and nth-order members, may be referred to herein as the "degree" of a share or member. The stock data generation unit generates stock data corresponding to the shares (primary shares or nth-order shares) decided to be issued by the primary stock management unit or the lower-level stock management unit. The generated stock data is sent to a transmission / reception mechanism and then to each user's user terminal via a network. The user's status or rights as a fan club member are guaranteed by this stock data. For example, the stock data can be data that enables a fan club to confirm that a user is a member of the fan club. The data may be, for example, barcode data such as a two-dimensional barcode.A user displays a barcode based on stock data on the display of their smartphone, and a fan club official reads the barcode with a barcode reader, allowing the fan club to confirm whether the user is a fan club member (and, in some cases, what level of membership the user has, and how many shares of that level of membership the user owns). Since the use of such barcodes is more than just publicly known, further explanation will be omitted. Furthermore, in the present invention, the price of a stock is calculated based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit. １ ≧X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ In other words, in the present invention, the price per share of the primary stock is always the same as or higher than the price per share of the secondary stock, and for stocks after the secondary stock or subsequent to the secondary stock, the price per share of the nth stock is always the same as or lower than the price of the (n-1)th stock.

[0009] A fan club operated by the above-described fan club management device follows the following rules: (Rule 1) Primary shares are sold during the initial subscription period. Users who purchase primary shares become primary members. (Rule 2) Primary members can introduce users who are candidates for secondary members to the fan club after the initial subscription period ends. (Rule 3) Users introduced to the fan club by primary members can purchase secondary shares, and users who purchase secondary shares become secondary members. (Rule 4) Secondary members can introduce users who are candidates for tertiary members to the fan club after the initial subscription period ends. (Rule 5) Users introduced to the fan club by secondary members can purchase tertiary shares, and users who purchase tertiary shares become tertiary members. (Rule 6) Similarly, n-1 primary members can subsequently introduce users who are candidates for nth-order members to the fan club. (Rule 7) A user introduced to the fan club by an n-1th member can purchase nth-order shares, and a user who purchases nth-order shares becomes an nth-order member. (Rule 8) Primary members through N-1th-order members can introduce potential members to the fan club, but Nth-order members cannot introduce potential members to the fan club. (Rule 9) The price per share of primary shares is the same as or higher than that of secondary shares, and for shares after secondary shares or subsequent shares, the price per share of nth-order shares is the same as or lower than the price of n-1th-order shares. In the fan club management device of the present application, the above rules are recorded in the rule recording unit directly or in an indirect form adapted to apply the above rules.

[0010] Using the fan club management device of the present application, a fan club is managed according to the above-mentioned rules, thereby achieving the following benefits. First, because primary members and lower-level members (secondary members and lower-level members) can purchase as many shares as they like, users can increase the amount they pay to artists through the fan club at their own discretion. This allows the fan club to earn a large income, making it easier for artists to secure income. On the other hand, fans who become members can pay as much as they want to their favorite artists, thereby satisfying their desire to support the artists to their heart's content. Furthermore, primary members and lower-level members (excluding Nth-level members) can attract new fans (users) to the fan club through referrals. As mentioned above, fans have a desire to have their favorite artists widely known. Therefore, such a referral system is consistent with this fan psychology and satisfies their desire to support artists. Furthermore, fans' active recruitment of potential new fans leads to an increase in the number of fan club members. Furthermore, the above rule (Rule 9) that "the price per share of a primary share is the same as or higher than a secondary share, and for shares after the secondary share or subsequent shares, the price per share of an nth share is the same as or lower than the price of an n-1th share" has the effect of increasing the satisfaction of primary members. This is because the fact that a primary member is an early fan and has contributed a higher amount per share than other members (it is possible that there are secondary or subsequent members who have contributed the same amount per share as a primary member, but at least there are no secondary or subsequent members who have contributed a higher amount per share than a primary member) satisfies the self-esteem of primary members who have had a strong desire to support artists from the beginning of the fan club's operations. To further satisfy the feelings of primary members, the price of the shares can be set at X １ >X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧Xｎ＋１It is advisable to satisfy the above condition. In this case, the above-mentioned (Rule 9) becomes "The per-share price of primary shares is always higher than that of secondary shares, and for shares after secondary shares, the per-share price of nth shares is the same as or lower than the price of n-1th shares." In addition, if the price of secondary shares and later shares is the same as or lower than the price of primary shares, it will be easier for secondary members and later members to join the fan club, especially if the price of secondary shares and later shares is lower than the price of primary shares. Even if the price of secondary shares and later shares is the same as the price of primary shares, it will not be difficult for secondary members and later members to join the fan club. If the price per share when secondary members and later members purchase shares to join the fan club were to gradually decrease, it would be relatively easy for the fan club to acquire new members, even after the number of members has increased to a certain level and it has become difficult to acquire new members. Note that this system is clearly different from a typical stock system. This is because, when a new stock company, such as a new venture company, is established, the investors who participate in the establishment of the venture company are usually the ones who can acquire shares at the lowest price (lowest price per share). Subsequent investors who invest in the venture company and acquire shares, for example, through a third-party allotment, can only purchase shares at a higher price per share than those who initially invested in the venture company. The stock price in this application is the opposite of the stock price in a stock company system, where the price per share is generally higher if you acquire shares later. Note that both primary shares and subordinate shares in this application correspond to the stocks in this application. It is also possible to set a limit on the number of shares that can be issued. This can motivate users to purchase shares. In this case, the following (Rule 10) would be recorded in the rule recording unit in addition to (Rule 1) through (Rule 9): (Rule 10) The maximum number of shares that can be issued is z.In this way, it is possible to set an upper limit on the number of shares that the fan club management device can issue. Furthermore, particularly useful when an upper limit is set on the number of shares that the fan club management device can issue, it is possible to limit the number of primary shares that a single user can purchase. This prevents a specific user from buying up all the primary shares, thereby preventing the issuance of subordinate shares and direct shares, which will be described later. Similarly, it is also possible to set a limit on the number of shares that a single user can purchase for subordinate shares and direct shares, which will be described later.

[0011] As described above, in the present invention, the stock price is calculated by the rule recorded in the rule recording unit. １ ≧X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ Here, the stock price is calculated as follows: ｎ >X ｎ＋１ In this case, the price per share of the nth tier stock will be lower than the price of the n-1th tier stock for all shares, including the primary and secondary shares. In this case, Rule 9 above is amended as in Rule 9.1 below. (Rule 9.1) The price per share of the nth tier stock will be lower than the price of the n-1th tier stock for all shares, regardless of whether they are primary or secondary shares. By doing so, one of the effects described above based on Rule 9, that is, "it will be relatively easy to acquire new members even when the number of members has increased to a certain extent and it has become difficult to acquire new members," can be more reliably achieved.

[0012] The fan club management device of the present application may also include a calculation unit that calculates, based on the data recorded in the member information recording unit, a predetermined amount of reward to be paid to a user who is an (n-1)th-order member and who introduced a user who is a candidate for an (n)th-order member. In this case, n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2. This reward corresponds to a so-called referral fee and motivates existing fan club members to introduce new potential members to the fan club. This increases the likelihood of attracting new members to the fan club. The reward may or may not be in the form of legal tender. For example, the reward may be data representing monetary value other than legal tender. Examples of such data include points compatible with legal tender used in prepaid payment methods in Japan, or points usable only within the fan club (of course, these do not necessarily have to be called "points"). Points usable only within the fan club may be, for example, points that can be used to purchase (or exchange for) artist merchandise or creative works that the fan club provides to its members. Regardless of whether the "reward" is in the form of points or not, it may be used for purposes other than purchasing goods or services, such as so-called "tipping" (trademark), in which a viewer user transfers money online to an artist who is a video distributor. A typical "tipping" is a type of online remittance in which a viewer user purchases a product online for a fee and then sends it to the artist upon viewing. However, the source of such tips can also be provided to the introducing user as a reward equivalent to a referral fee. Based on the data recorded in the member information recording unit, the calculation unit determines which n-1th-order member introduced a user who is a candidate for a new n-th-order member, and thereby determines how much reward to pay to each member. The reward is paid from the fan club to the n-1th-order member, but the payment method is flexible, and it is also flexible whether the fan club management device is equipped with a reward payment function. Furthermore, the calculation unit's method for determining the amount of the reward can be appropriately determined.The rule recording unit may also record rules related to rewards, such as rules for determining the amount of rewards and when to calculate the reward amount. For example, the calculation unit may calculate a reward amount to be paid to a user who is an (n-1)th-order member and who introduced a user who is a candidate for an (n+1)th-order member, that is higher than the reward amount to be paid to a user who is an (n+1)th-order member and who introduced a user who is a candidate for an (n+1)th-order member. This means that a user who becomes a fan club member at an earlier stage can earn a larger referral fee when introducing a new user to the fan club. This reward determination method makes it possible to motivate users to become a fan club member at an earlier stage (at a lower degree). The reward amount may be calculated as A, where A is the referral fee when an (m)th-order member (where m is a natural number from 1 to N-1) introduces an (m+1)th-order member. ｍ＋１ , and the number of m-th members who became members through a user (yourself) introduction or who have a serial introduction relationship from that user is P ｍ＋１ In this case, the amount may be calculated using the following formula (Formula 1). This is an example of how to calculate the reward. For example, in the case of N=4 (i.e., only up to 4th level membership is permitted), and the user who is to receive the reward is a primary member, the reward that a primary member can receive in this case is A ２ The number of secondary members who are in an invitation relationship with the primary member is P ２ The amount multiplied by A ３ The number of tertiary members who are in an invitation relationship with the primary member is P ３ The amount multiplied by A ４ The number of fourth-degree members who are in an invitation relationship with the first-degree member is P ４ Similarly, if N=4 and the user to receive the reward is a tertiary member, then ４ The number of fourth-degree members who are in an invitation relationship with the third-degree member is P ４ The amount multiplied by this is the amount of the reward. ｍ >A ｍ＋１In this way, an nth-order member can receive a larger referral fee than an n+1th-order member when introducing one person to the fan club. This will motivate users to join the fan club at an early stage. ｍ >A ｍ＋１ For example, the following can be done: When m is 3 or more, A ｍ = A ２ ×B ｍ－２ (where 0<B<1) and A ｍ can be obtained.

[0013] The fan club management device may include a direct stock management unit that, after the initial subscription period ends, when the non-member user sends data via the user terminal and the network indicating their intention to purchase the shares at a price of Y per share and the number of shares they wish to purchase, and when the payment calculated by multiplying Y by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, determines to issue to the user the number of direct stocks, which are a type of stock, that the user wishes to purchase in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, and records in the member information recording unit that the user is a direct member and the number of direct stocks to be issued to the user. In this case, the stock data generation unit may generate stock data corresponding to the direct stocks decided to be issued to the user by the direct stock management unit, and transmit the stock data via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network to the user terminal of the user who will become the owner of the shares corresponding to the stock data. As described above, the shares issued by the fan club management device of the present application are basically primary shares and subordinate shares. Furthermore, primary shares and lower-tier shares that are not Nth-tier shares entitle members who own them to introduce other users who are not members of the fan club to the fan club (introduction rights). However, some users may already be members of the fan club but may not have anyone around them who can introduce them to the fan club. By allowing users to purchase shares directly as described above after the initial subscription period ends, even those who do not have connections to become fan club members as lower-tier members can become fan club members by obtaining shares directly from the fan club. This provides a platform for users who do not have connections to become fan club members. Furthermore, members who directly own shares do not have the right to introduce other users who are not members of the fan club to the fan club (introduction rights).

[0014] The fan club management device of the present application may also include a rights management unit that generates rights data corresponding to the rights of the member user to receive data on creative works provided by the artist based on data recorded in the member information recording unit, and transmits the generated rights data to the user terminal of the member user via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network. The rights data represents the rights to receive data on creative works provided by the artist. Those who possess this data can receive data on movies, songs, manga, and other creative works provided by the artist via the fan club management device or other devices operating audio distribution sites or video distribution sites. Of course, the user can enjoy (or consume) the creative works by listening to or viewing them based on the provided data. This right can be granted regardless of the type of stock held by the user. The rights data may or may not be sent to the user terminal at the same time as the data representing the stock is provided to the user. The artist may be a musician, and the rights data may be viewing data corresponding to the rights to listen to songs provided by the artist. Furthermore, the content of the rights data or viewing data can be changed depending on the type of stock held by the user. Taking an example where the rights data is viewing data, for example, a primary member can view a certain song earlier than a lower-level member, or an nth-level member can view a wider variety of songs than an n+1th-level member. If the viewing data provided to a primary member is more advantageous than that provided to a lower-level member, or if the viewing data provided to a higher-ranking member among the lower-level members is more advantageous, users can be motivated to become members of the fan club earlier. Similar differences in rights data can be provided depending on the type of stock held by the user.Rules regarding the provision of right data or viewing data, such as the content of right data or viewing data provided to the user and the timing of providing right data or viewing data, can also be recorded in the rule recording section.

[0015] The fan club management device according to the present application may include a viewing management unit that generates viewing data corresponding to the right of the user (member) to attend a live performance provided by the artist based on data recorded in the member information recording unit, and transmits the generated viewing data to the user terminal of the user (member) via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network. The viewing data represents the right to attend a live performance provided by the artist and is equivalent to a live performance ticket. A person who possesses this data can attend a live performance provided by the artist they support. This right can be granted regardless of the type of stock held by the user. The viewing data may or may not be sent to the user terminal at the same time as the data representing the stock is provided to the user. Furthermore, the content of the viewing data can be changed depending on the type of stock held by the user. For example, the content of the viewing data sent to the secondary members may be the same as or less favorable than the content of the viewing data sent to the primary members, and the content of the viewing data sent to the nth-order members may be the same as or less favorable than the content of the viewing data sent to the (n-1)th-order members. If the content of viewing data provided to primary members is more favorable than that provided to lower-level members, or if the content of viewing data provided to higher-ranking members among the lower-level members is more favorable, users can be motivated to become members of the fan club earlier. Rules regarding the provision of viewing data, such as the content of the viewing data provided to users and the timing of providing the viewing data, can also be recorded in the rule recording unit.

[0016] The present inventor also proposes a method executed by a fan club management device as one aspect of the present invention. The effects of this method are equivalent to the effects of the fan club management device of the present invention. One example of this method is a method for managing a fan club, a group of fans supporting a specific artist, by allocating shares representing membership in the fan club to the users in combination with a plurality of user terminals connected to a specific network and capable of communicating via the network. The method is executed by an information processing unit of a fan club management device that includes a transmission / reception mechanism capable of communicating via the network, a rule recording unit that records the rules of the fan club, a member information recording unit that records information about the shares held by the members for each member, and an information processing unit that uses data transmitted from the user terminals via the network to the transmission / reception mechanism and performs information processing based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit. The method, executed by the information processing unit, involves distributing shares of X shares per share from users who are not members via the user terminals and the network during an initial recruitment period, which is a predetermined period after recruitment for members begins. １ The person sends an indication of their intention to purchase at a price of X and the number of shares they wish to purchase. １a primary stock management process for determining, in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, that the number of primary shares to be issued to the user be the number that the user wishes to purchase, when payment of the price calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares that the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, and recording in the member information recording unit that the user is a primary member and the number of primary shares to be issued to the user; and defining users who have been introduced by the primary members as candidates for secondary members, users who have been introduced by the secondary members as candidates for tertiary members, ... and users who have been introduced by n-1st members as candidates for nth members (where n is a natural number between 2 and N, and N is a predetermined natural number greater than or equal to 3), after the end of the initial recruitment period, the shares are transferred from the users who are candidates for nth members who have been introduced by the n-1st members via the user terminal and the network at X per share. ｎ The person sends an indication of their intention to purchase at a price of X and the number of shares they wish to purchase. ｎ and a lower-level stock management process for, when payment of the price calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, deciding to issue to the user the number of nth-order shares, which are a type of the stock, that the user wishes to purchase in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, and recording in the member information recording unit that the user is an nth-order member, the number of the nth-order shares to be issued to the user, and information identifying the member who introduced the user; and a stock data generation process for generating stock data that is data corresponding to the primary shares decided to be issued to the user in the primary stock management process or data corresponding to the nth-order shares decided to be issued to the user in the lower-level stock management process, and transmitting the stock data via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network to the user terminal of the user who will be the owner of the shares corresponding to the stock data. In this method, the price of the stock is calculated based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, １ ≧X ２ , and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ The following conditions must be satisfied.

[0017] The present inventors also propose a computer program for causing a specific computer, such as a general-purpose computer, to function as a fan club management device as one aspect of the present invention. The effects of such a computer program are equivalent to those of the fan club management device of the present invention, and the computer program enables the specific computer to function as the fan club management device of the present invention. One example of the computer program is a computer program for combining a specific computer with a plurality of user terminals connected to a specific network and capable of communicating via the network, and managing a fan club, which is a collection of fans who support a specific artist, by distributing shares representing membership in the fan club to the users. The computer program is a computer program for causing the specific computer to function as a fan club management device, the computer program comprising: a transmission / reception mechanism capable of communicating via the network; a rule recording unit for recording the rules of the fan club; a member information recording unit for recording information about the shares held by each member; and an information processing unit for processing information based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit using data sent from the user terminals via the network. This computer program causes the information processing unit to receive X shares per share from the user who is not a member via the user terminal and the network during an initial recruitment period, which is a predetermined period after recruitment for members begins. １ The person sends an indication of their intention to purchase at a price of X and the number of shares they wish to purchase. １a primary stock management process for determining, in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, that the number of primary shares to be issued to the user be the number that the user wishes to purchase, when payment of the price calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares that the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, and recording in the member information recording unit that the user is a primary member and the number of primary shares to be issued to the user; and defining users who have been introduced by the primary members as candidates for secondary members, users who have been introduced by the secondary members as candidates for tertiary members, ... and users who have been introduced by n-1st members as candidates for nth members (where n is a natural number between 2 and N, and N is a predetermined natural number greater than or equal to 3), after the end of the initial recruitment period, the shares are transferred from the users who are candidates for nth members who have been introduced by the n-1st members via the user terminal and the network at X per share. ｎ The person sends an indication of their intention to purchase at a price of X and the number of shares they wish to purchase. ｎ When payment of the price calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, the computer program executes a lower-level stock management process that, in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, decides to issue to the user the number of nth-order shares, which are a type of stock, that the user wishes to purchase, and records in the member information recording unit that the user is an nth-order member, the number of the nth-order shares to be issued to the user, and information identifying the member who introduced the user; and a stock data generation process that generates stock data corresponding to the primary shares decided to be issued to the user in the primary stock management process or the nth-order shares decided to be issued to the user in the lower-level stock management process, and transmits the stock data via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network to the user terminal of the user who will become the owner of the shares corresponding to the stock data. Also, this computer program executes a lower-level stock management process that, in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, decides to issue to the user the number of nth-order shares, which are a type of stock, that the user wishes to purchase, and records in the member information recording unit that the user is an nth-order member, the number of the nth-order shares to be issued to the user, and information identifying the member who introduced the user. １ ≧X ２ , and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧Xｎ＋１ The following conditions must be satisfied.

[0018] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a fan club management system according to an embodiment, the system including a server as a fan club management device and a large number of terminals. A diagram showing the appearance of a terminal included in the system shown in FIG. 1. A diagram showing the hardware configuration of a terminal included in the system shown in FIG. 1. A block diagram showing functional blocks generated inside a terminal included in the system shown in FIG. 1. A block diagram showing functional blocks generated inside a server included in the system shown in FIG. 1. A diagram showing an example of a login screen displayed on the display of a terminal when a user purchases primary shares. A diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of a terminal when a user has logged in after purchasing primary shares. A diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of a terminal when a user has purchased primary shares, prompting the user to pay the purchase price for the primary shares. A diagram showing an example of data recorded in the member information recording unit of the server included in the system shown in FIG. 1 when selling primary shares. A diagram showing an example of a login screen displayed on the display of a terminal when a user purchases subordinate shares. A diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of a terminal when a user has logged in after purchasing subordinate shares. A diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of a terminal when a user has purchased subordinate shares, prompting the user to pay the purchase price for the subordinate shares. A diagram showing an example of data recorded in the member information recording unit of the server included in the system shown in Figure 1 when lower-level shares are sold. A diagram showing an example of a login screen displayed on the display of a terminal when a user purchases direct shares. A diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display of a terminal when the user has logged in when purchasing direct shares. A diagram showing an example of data recorded in the member information recording unit of the server included in the system shown in Figure 1 when direct shares are sold. A tree diagram showing the relationships between users who, starting from a certain user, have an introduction relationship with someone who has become a member through their introduction.

[0019] A preferred embodiment of the present invention and its modifications will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description of the embodiment and modifications, duplicated elements will be assigned the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted where appropriate.

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a preferred embodiment of a fan club management system including a fan club management device according to the present invention. The system according to this embodiment includes multiple terminals 100-1 to 100-N (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as "terminals 100") and a server 200. All of these are connectable to a network 400. In this embodiment, the network 400 is the Internet, although this is not limited thereto. Part of the network 400 may include a local area network (LAN), an intranet, or other networks. The terminal 100 in this embodiment corresponds to a user terminal as defined herein. A user terminal is owned by each user and used by each user. Note that the same user may use multiple terminals 100, such as a smartphone, tablet, and desktop personal computer, which commonly connect to the same Internet site. Meanwhile, the server 200 in this embodiment corresponds to a fan club management device as defined herein. Server 200 and terminals 100-1 to 100-N are capable of communicating with each other via network 400. Server 200 is a fan club management device referred to herein. The fan club management device manages a fan club, which is a collection of fans of an artist. An "artist" is a person who provides users (users are those who enjoy (or consume) the above-mentioned creative works) with creative works that can be converted into digital content and distributed, for example, via the Internet or other networks, such as creative works using poetry, novels, or other written media, creative works using comics, posters, or other still images, creative works using music videos, movies, or other moving images, or creative works using music, stand-up comedy, or other audio media. Although not limited to this, an artist in this embodiment is considered to be a person (singer, performer, etc.) who provides users with musical creative works.

[0021] Next, the configuration of the terminal 100 will be described. The configuration of each of the terminals 100-1 to 100-N can be said to be the same in relation to the fan club management device of the present invention. The terminal 100 includes a computer. More specifically, the terminal 100 in this embodiment is configured as a general-purpose computer. The terminal 100 may be a smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer, wearable device, or the like. All of these devices are required to be capable of communicating via the network 400, to install a computer program described below to generate the functional blocks described below internally, and to execute the processing described below. As long as these are possible, other specifications are not particularly important. The terminal 100 may be a publicly known or well-known device, and a commercially available device is sufficient. For example, if the terminal 100 is a smartphone or a tablet, the terminal 100 as a smartphone may be, for example, an iPhone (trademark) manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC, and the terminal 100 as a tablet may be, for example, an iPad (trademark) manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC. If the terminal 100 is configured as a notebook computer, desktop computer, wearable device, or the like, any of these may be commercially available. In the following, although not limited to this, the discussion will proceed assuming that the terminal 100 is a smartphone.

[0022] FIG. 2 shows an example of the external appearance of the terminal 100. The terminal 100 includes a display 101. The display 101 is for displaying still images or moving images, and may be a publicly known or well-known display. The display 101 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. If the terminal 100 is a desktop computer, the display 101 is external, but in this application, the terminal 100 is still considered to include the display 101. The terminal 100 also includes an input device 102. The input device 102 is used by a user to input desired information into the terminal 100. The input device 102 may be a publicly known or well-known display. In this embodiment, the input device 102 of the terminal 100 is a button-type device, but is not limited to this, and may also be a numeric keypad, keyboard, trackball, mouse, speech-to-text input device, tap key, or the like. In particular, if the terminal 100 is a notebook computer, a desktop computer, or a wearable terminal, the input device 102 will likely be an external device such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a tapping switch, but in this application the terminal 100 will still be treated as having the input device 102. Also, if the display 101 is a touch panel, the display 101 will also function as the input device 102, and this is the case in this embodiment.

[0023] The hardware configuration of the terminal 100 is shown in FIG. 3 . The hardware includes a central processing unit (CPU) 111, a read-only memory (ROM) 112, a random access memory (RAM) 113, and an interface 114, which are interconnected by a bus 116. The CPU 111 is a computing device that performs calculations. The CPU 111 executes the processes described below by executing computer programs stored in the ROM 112 or the RAM 113, for example. Although not shown, the hardware may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or other large-capacity storage device, and the computer program may be stored in the large-capacity storage device. Furthermore, in consideration of future improvements in processing capabilities, the CPU 111 may be a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a general purpose computing on GPU (GPGPU). In this application, a so-called CPU is used as the CPU 111 as an example of an embodiment. The computer program referred to here includes at least a computer program for causing terminal 100 to execute the processes described below (e.g., processes for causing terminal 100 to function as a user terminal according to the present invention). This computer program may be pre-installed in terminal 100 or may be post-installed in terminal 100. This computer program may be installed in terminal 100 via a predetermined recording medium such as a memory card, or via a network such as a LAN or the Internet. The computer program may include data used when CPU 111 executes information processing in accordance with instructions based on the computer program. ROM 112 stores computer programs and data necessary for CPU 111 to execute the processes described below.The computer programs stored in the ROM 112 are not limited to the above. If the terminal 100 is a smartphone, the ROM 112 may store computer programs and data necessary for the terminal 100 to function as a smartphone, such as computer programs and data for implementing functions such as phone calls and emails. The terminal 100 is also capable of browsing websites based on data received via the network 400, and is equipped with a known web browser to enable this. The RAM 113 is a type of memory and provides a work area necessary for the CPU 111 to perform processing. The RAM 113 is rewritable. In some cases, the RAM 113 may store (part of) the computer programs and data described above. When the CPU 111 executes processing based on the computer programs described below, the computer programs are deployed on the RAM 113. The interface 114 exchanges data between the CPU 111, RAM 113, etc., connected via the bus 116, and external devices. The interface 114 is connected to the display 101 and input device 102 described above. Operational content input from the input device 102 is input to the bus 116 via the interface 114. As is well known, image data for displaying an image on the display 101 is sent from the bus 116 to the interface 114 and output from the interface 114 to the display 101. The interface 114 is also connected to a transmission / reception mechanism (not shown), which is a well-known means for communicating with the outside world via a network 400, such as the Internet. This enables the terminal 100 to transmit data via the network 400 and receive data via the network 400. Data transmission and reception via the network 400 may be performed via a wired connection or wirelessly. For example, if the terminal 100 is a smartphone, such communication would typically be performed wirelessly. To the extent possible, the configuration of the transmission / reception mechanism may be publicly known or well-known.Data received by the transmitting / receiving mechanism from the network 400 is received by the interface 114, and data passed from the interface 114 to the transmitting / receiving mechanism is sent by the transmitting / receiving mechanism via the network 400 to an external party, for example, the server 200.

[0024] As the CPU 111 executes the computer program, functional blocks such as those shown in FIG. 4 are generated within the terminal 100. The functional blocks may be generated by the standalone functions of the computer program described above for causing the terminal 100 to function as a user terminal according to the present invention, or may be generated by cooperation between the computer program described above and an OS or other computer programs installed on the terminal 100. In relation to the functions of the present invention, an input unit 121, a control unit 122, an image generation unit 123, an output unit 124, and a stock data recording unit 125 are generated within the terminal 100. Of these, the control unit 122 and the image generation unit 123 correspond to the arithmetic unit (CPU 111) in terms of hardware, or are realized by the functions of the arithmetic unit that executes information processing according to the instructions of the computer program described above. The input unit 121 and the output unit 124 correspond to the interface 114 in terms of hardware, or are realized by the functions of the interface 114. More specifically, the input unit 121 and the output unit 124 conceptually correspond to the connection between the interface 114 and the bus 116. The stock data recording unit 125 is realized in hardware by a recording device, i.e., the RAM 113 or a large-capacity recording device. All of the information processing performed by these functional blocks is realized by the CPU 111.

[0025] The input unit 121 receives input from the interface 114. Inputs from the interface 114 to the input unit 121 include input from the input device 102. Inputs from the input device 102 include, for example, data on a user ID, which is unique identification information for each user used to identify the user, and login data, both of which will be described in detail later. Inputs from the input device 102 also include purchase request data, which requests the server 200, which serves as a fan club management device, to purchase shares, both of which will be described in detail later. The purchase request data is input along with share count data. The share count data specifies the number of shares the user wishes to purchase. In addition, introducer data, which will also be described later, may be input from the input device 102. Data input from the interface 114 to the input unit 121 includes data input to the interface 114 from the transmission / reception mechanism. The transmission / reception mechanism may receive data (e.g., stock data and image control data, described below) sent from the server 200 via the network 400. In any case, the input unit 121 sends the data received from the interface 114 to the control unit 122 .

[0026] The control unit 122 controls all of the functional blocks created within the terminal 100. The control unit 122 has the following functions, for example: User ID data and login data may be input to the control unit 122. Upon receiving this data, the control unit 122 links the user ID data with the login data, attaches data specifying the server 200 as the destination, and sends the data to the output unit 124. Introducer data may be input to the control unit 122. Upon receiving this data, the control unit 122 links the login data, user ID data, and introducer data, attaches data specifying the server 200 as the destination, and sends the data to the output unit 124. Purchase request data and share count data may also be input to the control unit 122. Upon receiving this data, the control unit 122 links the purchase request data with the share count data, attaches data specifying the server 200 as the destination, and sends the data to the output unit 124. The control unit 122 may also receive image control data. When the control unit 122 receives the image control data, it sends an instruction to the image generation unit 123 to generate image data for displaying an image based on the image control data on the display 101 of the terminal 100. The control unit 122 may also receive stock data. When the control unit 122 receives the stock data, it sends the stock data to the stock data recording unit 125 and records it in the stock data recording unit 125.

[0027] The image generation unit 123 may receive an instruction to generate image data for an image based on the image control data. When the image generation unit 123 receives the image control data, it generates image data based on the image control data and sends it to the output unit 124. As described above, the stock data recording unit 125 may record stock data by the control unit 122. In other words, the stock data recording unit 125 has the function of recording stock data.

[0028] The output unit 124 outputs data generated by the functional blocks within the terminal 100 to the interface 114. As described above, the output unit 124 may receive from the control unit 122 linked user ID data and login data, each accompanied by data specifying the server 200 as the destination. Upon receiving this data, the output unit 124 transmits the data to the transmission / reception mechanism via the interface 114. The transmission / reception mechanism transmits the user ID data and login data to the server 200 via the network 400. As described above, the output unit 124 may receive from the control unit 122 linked user ID data, login data, and introducer data, each accompanied by data specifying the server 200 as the destination. Upon receiving this data, the output unit 124 transmits the data to the transmission / reception mechanism via the interface 114. As described above, the output unit 124 may receive from the control unit 122 linked purchase request data and share count data, each accompanied by data specifying the server 200 as the destination. The output unit 124 receives these data and sends them to the transmission / reception mechanism via the interface 114. The transmission / reception mechanism sends the purchase request data and the number of shares data to the server 200 via the network 400. In addition, the output unit 124 may receive image data from the image generation unit 123. Upon receiving this, the output unit 124 sends it to the interface 114. The image data is sent from the interface 114 to the display 101, and an image based on the image data is displayed on the display 101.

[0029] Next, the configuration of the server 200 will be described. From a hardware perspective, the server 200 may be an existing, publicly known or well-known server. However, the server 200 executes a computer program described below to perform operations different from those of conventional servers or server devices, and to perform functions different from those of conventional servers or server devices. The hardware configuration of the server 200 may be a general one, and roughly speaking, it can follow the hardware configuration of the terminal 100, in which a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, and an interface 114 are connected via a bus 116. However, the server 200 typically includes an HDD, an SSD, or other large-capacity storage device. The configurations and functions of the CPU, ROM, RAM, interface, bus, and large-capacity storage device included in the server 200 are the same as those of the terminal 100. Furthermore, the interface included in the server 200 is connected to a transmission / reception mechanism, similar to that included in the terminal 100, for communicating with devices outside the server 200 via the network 400. Information (data) sent from the bus to the interface is sent to the transmitting / receiving mechanism, and then sent from the transmitting / receiving mechanism to, for example, the terminal 100 via the network 400. Data sent from the terminal 100 via the network 400 and received by the transmitting / receiving mechanism is sent from the transmitting / receiving mechanism to the interface, and then sent from the interface to the bus. Note that a display and input device similar to those provided on the terminal 100 may be connected to the interface provided on the server 200, but as they are not particularly relevant to the present application, their description will be omitted.

[0030] By executing a computer program stored in a ROM, mass storage device, or the like within server 200 to cause server 200 to function as the fan club management device of the present invention, functional blocks such as those described below are generated within server 200. The functional blocks may be generated by a standalone computer program for causing server 200 to function as the fan club management device of the present invention, or may be generated by cooperation between the computer program and an OS or other computer programs installed on server 200. The computer program may be pre-installed on server 200 or may be post-installed on server 200. If the computer program is post-installed, it may be installed on server 200 via a predetermined recording medium such as a memory card, or via a network such as a LAN or the Internet. When the CPU executes processing based on the computer program, the computer program is loaded onto RAM. These circumstances are similar to those of terminal 100. In relation to the functions of the present invention, server 200 includes an input unit 221, a control unit 222, a primary stock management unit 223A, a lower-level stock management unit 223B, a direct stock management unit 223C, a stock data generation unit 224, a payment management unit 225, a member information recording unit 226A, a rule recording unit 226B, a viewing management unit 227A, a viewing management unit 227B, an image control unit 228, an output unit 229, and a reward management unit 300 (FIG. 5). Of these, control unit 222, primary stock management unit 223A, lower-level stock management unit 223B, a direct stock management unit 223C, a stock data generation unit 224, a payment management unit 225, a viewing management unit 227A, a viewing management unit 227B, an image control unit 228, and a reward management unit 300 correspond to a computing device (a CPU in the description of the embodiment, although not limited to this) in terms of hardware, or are realized by the functions of a computing device that executes information processing in accordance with the instructions of the computer program described above. When viewed from the perspective of hardware, the input unit 221 and the output unit 229 correspond to an interface, or are realized by the function of an interface.More specifically, the input unit 221 and the output unit 229 conceptually correspond to the connection between an interface and a bus. The member information recording unit 226A and the rule recording unit 226B are realized in hardware by a recording device, i.e., RAM or a large-capacity recording device. The rule recording unit 226B may also be realized by a ROM.

[0031] The input unit 221 receives input from the interface. The data input to the input unit 221 from the interface is data sent from the terminal 100 via the network 400 and received by the transmission / reception mechanism of the server 200. The data received by the transmission / reception mechanism from the terminal 100, as will be described in detail later, includes, for example, linked user ID data and login data, linked user ID data, login data, and introducer data, and linked purchase request data and share count data. When this data is received from the interface, the input unit 221 sends each piece of data to the control unit 222. The data input from the transmission / reception mechanism includes payment data, as will be described in detail later. The payment data is sent, for example, from an external device that manages payments, such as a payment device managed by a bank, credit card company, prepaid payment method, or other electronic payment provider. The payment data is data that at least indicates which user paid how much to the fan club.

[0032] The control unit 222 controls all functional blocks created within the server 200. The control unit 222 has a function for determining whether the current date and time falls within the initial subscription period. The initial subscription period is a predetermined period after the server 200, which is the fan club management device of the present application, begins selling shares. The start and end dates of the initial subscription period are determined by data recorded in the rule recording unit 226B, which will be described later. The length of the initial subscription period can be, for example, approximately three months. The control unit 222 has a function for determining the current date and time, such as a clock function or a function for reading data related to the current date and time from an external device, and is capable of determining whether the current date and time falls within the initial subscription period using the current date and time data obtained using such publicly known or well-known functions. The control unit 222 also has an authentication function for determining whether a user can log in to the server 200. The control unit 222 may receive a pair of user ID data and login data from the input unit 221. The control unit 222 has a function of authenticating the user having the user ID when it receives linked user ID data and login data, and, if the authentication is approved, authorizing the user to log in to the service provided by the server 200, which serves as the fan club management device. The control unit 222 may receive linked user ID data, login data, and introducer data from the input unit 221. When the control unit 222 receives linked user ID data, login data, and introducer data, it also authenticates the user having the user ID. Furthermore, when receiving these three types of data, the control unit 222 has a function of determining which shares of the underlying stocks can be sold to the user. When making this determination, the control unit 222 uses data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A; details of this process will be described later. To authenticate users, the control unit 222 records user IDs assigned to users of all terminals 100. The user IDs may be recorded, for example, in the member information recording unit 226A. The user ID is a unique identifier for each user, and is, for example, a string of at least one of letters, numbers, and symbols.The user ID for each user may be issued to each user by the server 200, which serves as a fan club management device, or may be determined by each user and notified to the server 200 in advance. In either case, it is easy to prepare a large number of user IDs, each unique relative to others, and to store them in, for example, the control unit 222 of the server 200 or an appropriate recording device, by referring to publicly known or well-known technologies. Of course, a combination of a user ID and a password can also be used for user authentication. User authentication can also be performed without a user ID, using the user's physical or behavioral characteristics, such as a fingerprint or iris. In either case, any appropriate publicly known or well-known technology can be applied to user authentication. Once login is approved, an instruction to generate image control data is sent to the image control unit 228. Details of the authentication process in this embodiment will be described later. The control unit 222 instructs the viewing management unit 227A to generate viewing data at a predetermined timing, as described below. The control unit 222 also instructs the viewing management unit 227B to generate viewing data at a predetermined timing, as described below. The control unit 222 also instructs the image control unit 228 to generate image control data, as described below, at a predetermined timing, as described below. The control unit 222 also has a function to determine the purchase price per share of stock to be purchased by the user and a function to determine the price of the stocks that the user wishes to purchase. The purchase price per share of stock and the price of the stocks that the user wishes to purchase are reflected in the image displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100. The instruction to generate image control data sent by the control unit 222 to the image control unit 228 may include content such as to ensure that the image displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 includes the correct purchase price per share of stock or the correct price of the stocks that the user wishes to purchase.

[0033] The control unit 222 also controls the primary stock management unit 223A, lower-level stock management unit 223B, and direct stock management unit 223C (described below), which have the function of determining the issuance of shares to users. The primary stock management unit 223A, lower-level stock management unit 223B, and direct stock management unit 223C, each of which has the function of determining the issuance of primary shares, lower-level shares, and direct shares, as will be described below. In this embodiment, the shares (stock data) issued by the server 200, which serves as the fan club management device of the present application, include primary shares, lower-level shares, and direct shares. However, of these, only primary shares and lower-level shares are required as issued shares; direct shares are not. If the server 200 does not issue direct shares, the direct stock management unit 223C is unnecessary, and the control unit 222's function of controlling the direct stock management unit 223C is also unnecessary. The control unit 222 may receive purchase request data and share count data that are linked to each other from the input unit 221. The control unit 222 sends this data to one of the primary stock management unit 223A, the lower-level stock management unit 223B, or the direct stock management unit 223C. In other words, the control unit 222 allocates the purchase request data and share count data that are linked to each other to one of the primary stock management unit 223A, the lower-level stock management unit 223B, or the direct stock management unit 223C.

[0034] As described above, the control unit 222 may receive purchase request data and share count data that are linked to each other from the input unit 221. The purchase request data and share count data that are linked to each other may be sent to the control unit 222 during the initial subscription period or after the initial subscription period has ended. When the purchase request data and share count data that are linked to each other are received during the initial subscription period, as described below, the user wishes to purchase primary shares. On the other hand, when the purchase request data and share count data that are linked to each other are received after the initial subscription period has ended, the user wishes to purchase subordinate shares or direct shares, as also described below.

[0035] If the control unit 222 receives linked purchase request data and share count data during the initial subscription period, the control unit 222 indicates that the user wishes to issue primary shares, and therefore sends the user ID data and share count data of the logged-in user to the primary share management unit 223A. Furthermore, at an appropriate time after sending the user ID data and share count data to the primary share management unit 223A, the control unit 222 may receive payment data from the payment management unit 225 indicating that the user has paid the purchase price for the primary shares they wish to purchase. When such payment data is received, the control unit 222 sends the payment data to the primary share management unit 223A. The payment data is data such as the following. As described above, payment data may be input from the input unit 221 to the payment management unit 225. This data indicates at least which user has paid how much to the fan club. The payment data is sent to the server 200 from a predetermined payment device used by the user to pay money to the fan club, such as a payment device managed by a bank, credit card company, or electronic payment provider. Meanwhile, before or after the control unit 222 sends the user ID data and share count data to the primary stock management unit 223A, the control unit 222 sends information about the purchase price awaiting payment to the payment management unit 225 (i.e., information identifying at least the amount of the purchase price awaiting payment and the user who is to pay the purchase price). If the payment data received by the payment management unit 225 corresponds to the purchase price of stocks awaiting payment, the payment management unit 225 generates payment completion data indicating that the user has paid the purchase price for the stocks and sends the generated payment completion data to the control unit 222. In this way, the payment management unit 225 has the function of working with the control unit 222 to confirm whether the purchase price for the stocks has been paid by the user. The so-called deposit confirmation function, which is a function of confirming whether a certain price has been paid, is, of course, publicly known or well-known. Therefore, the payment confirmation function of the payment management unit 225, which is performed in cooperation with the control unit 222, can be appropriately constructed using publicly known or well-known technology.

[0036] When the control unit 222 receives purchase request data and share count data that are linked to each other after the end of the initial subscription period, as described above, the user wishes to purchase subordinate shares or wishes to purchase shares directly. Here, the user who sends the purchase request data and share count data from the terminal 100 has previously logged in to the server 200. If the user sent introducer data when logging in, the user wishes to purchase subordinate shares (more precisely, shares of a specific order among the subordinate shares). If the user did not send introducer data when logging in, the user wishes to purchase shares directly. When the control unit 222 receives purchase request data and share count data that are linked to each other from the terminal 100 that previously sent introducer data after the end of the initial subscription period, this indicates that the user wishes to issue subordinate shares, so the control unit 222 further links the previously received introducer data to the linked purchase request data and share count data and sends them to the subordinate share management unit 223B. Furthermore, at an appropriate timing after sending the user ID data, share count data, and introducer data to the lower-level stock management unit 223B, the control unit 222 may receive payment data from the payment management unit 225 indicating that the user has paid the purchase price for the lower-level shares he or she desired to purchase. When such payment data is received, the control unit 222 is configured to send the payment data to the lower-level stock management unit 223B. The function of the payment management unit 225 when a user is attempting to purchase lower-level shares is the same as when the user wishes to purchase primary shares. If the control unit 222 receives purchase request data and share count data linked to each other from a terminal 100 that did not previously send introducer data after the end of the initial subscription period, this indicates that the user wishes to issue shares directly, and the control unit 222 is configured to send the user ID data and share count data of the logged-in user to the direct stock management unit 223C.Furthermore, at an appropriate timing after sending the user ID data and the number of shares data to the direct stock management unit 223C, the control unit 222 may receive payment data from the payment management unit 225 indicating that the user has paid the purchase price for the direct stocks that the user desired to purchase. When such payment data is received, the control unit 222 sends the payment data to the direct stock management unit 223C. The function of the payment management unit 225 when a user is attempting to purchase direct stocks is the same as when the user wishes to purchase primary shares.

[0037] The primary stock management unit 223A has the function of determining how many primary shares to issue to a user. As described above, the primary stock management unit 223A may receive from the control unit 222 the user ID data of the logged-in users who are linked to each other and the share count data. When the primary stock management unit 223A receives this data, it indicates that the user wishes to purchase primary shares. Then, when payment data indicating that the purchase price for the primary shares that the user wishes to purchase has been paid is sent from the control unit 222, the primary stock management unit 223A determines to issue the primary shares that the user wishes to purchase in the number desired by the user identified by the share count data. When the primary stock management unit 223A decides to issue primary stocks, it sends information (or data; although not limited to this, in this embodiment it is assumed to be user ID data) for identifying the user to whom the primary stocks will be issued, data for identifying the type of stocks to be allocated to the user (in this case, the issued stocks are primary stocks), and data indicating the number of stocks held by the user to the member information recording unit 226A in a linked state, and records the data in the member information recording unit 226A. Furthermore, when the primary stock management unit 223A decides to issue primary stocks, it sends the same data as that sent to the member information recording unit 226A to the stock data generation unit 224. The lower-level stock management unit 223B has the function of determining how many lower-level shares to issue to the user. As described above, the lower-level stock management unit 223B may receive from the control unit 222 the user ID data, share count data, and introducer data of the logged-in users, which are linked to each other. When the lower-level stock management unit 223B receives this data, it indicates that the user wishes to purchase lower-level stocks. Then, when payment data indicating that the purchase price for the lower-level stocks that the user wishes to purchase has been paid is sent from the control unit 222, the lower-level stock management unit 223B decides to issue the lower-level stocks that the user wishes to purchase in the number specified by the share count data.When the lower-level stock management unit 223B decides to issue lower-level shares, it sends information (or data; although not limited to this, in this embodiment it is user ID data) for identifying the user to whom the lower-level shares will be issued, data identifying the type of shares to be allocated to the user (i.e., any of secondary shares to Nth-level shares), and data indicating the number of shares to be issued to the user, all linked together, to the member information recording unit 226A, where they are recorded in the member information recording unit 226A. As will be explained later, the writing of the above-mentioned data into the member information recording unit 226A by the lower-level stock management unit 223B is slightly different from the writing of the above-mentioned data into the member information recording unit 226A by the primary stock management unit 223A. When the lower-level stock management unit 223B writes the data into the member information recording unit 226A, it uses the introducer data received from the control unit 222. Furthermore, once the lower-level stock management unit 223B decides to issue lower-level stocks, it sends the data sent to the member information recording unit 226A, excluding the introducer data, to the stock data generation unit 224. The direct stock management unit 223C has the function of determining how many direct stocks to issue to a user. As described above, the direct stock management unit 223C may receive from the control unit 222 the user ID data and share count data of the logged-in users who are linked to each other. When the direct stock management unit 223C receives this data, it indicates that the user wishes to purchase direct stocks. Then, when payment data indicating that the purchase price for the direct stocks the user wishes to purchase has been paid is sent from the control unit 222, the direct stock management unit 223C determines to issue the direct stocks the user wishes to purchase in the number desired by the user identified by the share count data. When the direct stock management unit 223C decides to issue direct stocks, it obtains information (or data; although not limited to this, in this embodiment it is assumed to be user ID data) for identifying the user to whom the direct stocks will be issued, and the type of stocks to be allocated to the user (in this case, the shares to be issued are direct stocks.The data specifying the number of shares held by the user and the data indicating the number of shares held by the user are sent to the member information recording unit 226A in a linked state, and are recorded in the member information recording unit 226A. Furthermore, when the direct stock management unit 223C decides to issue shares directly, it sends the same data as that sent to the member information recording unit 226A to the stock data generation unit 224.

[0038] The stock data generation unit 224 has the function of generating stock data. The stock data is data corresponding to the stocks granted to users. Furthermore, stocks refer to the status or rights of fan club membership granted to those recognized as fan club members by the fan club management device. However, as will be described later, stocks may be accompanied by other statuses or rights. As will be explained later, in this embodiment, the right to obtain viewing data and viewing data may be accompanied by the stock data. As with the data for subordinate shares and direct shares, the data format of primary shares is free. However, it is preferable that the data for each share be unique. The stock data generation unit 224 may receive, from the primary share management unit 223A, user ID data, data identifying the type of shares to be issued as primary shares, and share count data, all linked together. Upon receiving these, the stock data generation unit 224 generates stock data corresponding to the shares to be provided to the user. The generated stock data is stock data for primary shares. The number of stock data items generated is the same as the number specified by the share count data. The stock data generation unit 224 sends the generated stock data to the output unit 229 along with information specifying the user's terminal 100 to which the data is to be sent. The stock data generation unit 224 may receive, from the lower-level stock management unit 223B, user ID data, data specifying the type of stock to be issued, and share count data, all linked together. Upon receiving these, the stock data generation unit 224 generates stock data corresponding to the stocks to be provided to the user. The generated stock data is stock data for stocks corresponding to the data specifying the type of stock (any of secondary stocks to Nth-order stocks). The number of stock data items generated is the same as the number specified by the share count data. The stock data generation unit 224 sends the generated stock data to the output unit 229 along with information specifying the user's terminal 100 to which the data is to be sent. The stock data generation unit 224 may receive, from the direct stock management unit 223C, user ID data, data specifying the type of stock to be issued as direct stock, and stock count data, all linked together.Upon receiving these, the stock data generation unit 224 generates stock data corresponding to the stocks to be provided to the user. The generated stock data is stock data for direct stocks. The number of stock data generated is the same as the number specified by the share count data. The stock data generation unit 224 sends the generated stock data to the output unit 229 together with information specifying the user's terminal 100 to which the data is to be sent.

[0039] The viewing management unit 227A has a function of generating viewing data. The viewing management unit 227A corresponds to a viewing management unit, which is an example of a rights management unit in the present invention. The rights management unit has a function of generating rights data, which is data corresponding to the rights of users who are fan club members to receive data on creative works provided by artists, based on data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A. This rights data is transmitted to the terminal 100 used by the user via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network 400. In this embodiment, as described above, the artist is a musician. Therefore, the above-mentioned rights data is considered to be viewing data, which is data corresponding to the rights to listen to music provided by the artist, and the rights management unit is considered to be the viewing management unit 227A. The viewing data, which is a type of rights data, is transmitted to the terminal 100 used by the user via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network 400, just as the above-mentioned viewing data is transmitted. The viewing management unit 227A generates viewing data when the control unit 222 instructs it to generate viewing data. As described above, the viewing data is data corresponding to the rights of fan club members to listen to music provided by artists they support. As described above, the viewing data is provided to fan club members who own shares. When generating the viewing data, the viewing management unit 227A references the data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A and generates the viewing data based on the data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A. Details of the method for generating viewing data will be described later. The data format of the viewing data is free, but it is preferable that each piece of viewing data is unique. Once the viewing data is generated, the viewing management unit 227A attaches a destination indicating the user's terminal 100 to which the viewing data should be sent to the viewing data, and sends the data to the output unit 229. The destination information is provided to the viewing management unit 227A, for example, from the control unit 222.

[0040] The viewing management unit 227B has the function of generating viewing data. The viewing management unit 227B generates viewing data when the control unit 222 instructs it to do so. The viewing data corresponds to the rights of fan club members to attend live performances provided by the artists they support. The viewing data is provided to fan club members who own shares. When generating viewing data, the viewing management unit 227B references the data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A and generates the viewing data based on the data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A. Details of how viewing data is generated will be described later. While the data format of the viewing data is free, it is preferable that each piece of viewing data be unique. After generating the viewing data, the viewing management unit 227B attaches a destination indicating the user's terminal 100 to which the viewing data should be sent to the viewing data and sends it to the output unit 229. The destination information is provided to the viewing management unit 227B, for example, from the control unit 222. Like the viewing management unit 227A, the viewing management unit 227B is not essential.

[0041] The image control unit 228 has a function of generating image control data. The image control data is data for controlling the image displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 operated by the user. Therefore, the image control data is transmitted from the server 200 to the terminal 100 via the network 400. The image control unit 228 generates image control data when the control unit 222 issues an instruction to generate image control data. This instruction includes an instruction on what kind of image control data to generate. After generating the image control data, the image control unit 228 attaches a destination indicating the user's terminal 100 to which the image control data should be sent to the image control data, and transmits the data to the output unit 229. The destination information is provided to the image control unit 228 by, for example, the control unit 222.

[0042] The output unit 229 has the function of transmitting data sent from the stock data generation unit 224, the viewing management unit 227A, the viewing management unit 227B, and the image control unit 228 to the transmission / reception mechanism of the server 200 via an interface. Stock data on primary stocks, subordinate stocks, or direct stocks is sent from the stock data generation unit 224. Viewing data is sent from the viewing management unit 227A, viewing data is sent from the viewing management unit 227B, and image control data is sent from the image control unit 228. As described above, the stock data, viewing data, viewing data, and image control data are accompanied by information (data) identifying the destination terminal 100. The data, along with the information identifying the destination, are sent from the output unit 229 to the transmission / reception mechanism. The transmission / reception mechanism transmits the stock data, viewing data, viewing data, and image control data via the network 400 to the terminal 100 identified by the information identifying the destination.

[0043] The rule recording unit 226B records rules for issuing stocks. In this embodiment, the rule recording unit 226B also records rules for providing viewing data to users and rules for providing viewing data to users. Each of the above-described functional blocks formed within the server 200, particularly the control unit 222, primary stock management unit 223A, lower-level stock management unit 223B, direct stock management unit 223C, stock data generation unit 224, payment management unit 225, member information recording unit 226A, viewing management unit 227A, and viewing management unit 227B, reads rules from the rule recording unit 226B as needed and performs information processing in accordance with the read rules. In light of this, arrows indicating the flow of data from the rule recording unit 226B to the numerous functional blocks described above should be included in FIG. 5 , but the arrows have been omitted to avoid overcomplicating the diagram. The rules recorded in the rule recording unit 226B are, for example, the following rules: However, the rules recorded in the rule recording unit 226B do not necessarily have to be the following rules themselves, but may be indirect adaptations of the following rules as long as each functional block can execute share issuance and other processes based on the rules exemplified below. Examples of rules related to share issuance include the following. Note that the following rules do not include rules for directly controlling the share management unit 223C, the viewing management unit 227A, and the viewing management unit 227B. However, rules for controlling these units can also be recorded in the rule recording unit 226B, and this is done in this embodiment. (Rule 1) Primary shares are sold during the initial subscription period. Users who purchase primary shares become primary members. (Rule 2) After the initial subscription period ends, primary members can introduce users who are potential secondary members to the fan club. (Rule 3) Users introduced to the fan club by primary members can purchase secondary shares, and users who purchase secondary shares become secondary members. (Rule 4) After the initial recruitment period ends, secondary members can introduce users who are candidates for tertiary members to the fan club.(Rule 5) Users introduced to the fan club by secondary members can purchase tertiary shares, and users who purchase tertiary shares become tertiary members. (Rule 6) Similarly, n-1 members can subsequently introduce users who are candidates for nth-order members to the fan club. (Rule 7) Users introduced to the fan club by n-1 members can purchase nth-order shares, and users who purchase nth-order shares become nth-order members. (Rule 8) Primary members through N-1 members can introduce potential members to the fan club, but Nth-order members cannot introduce potential members to the fan club. (Rule 9) The price per share of primary shares is always higher than that of secondary shares. For shares after secondary shares or those after secondary shares, the price per share of nth-order shares is the same as or lower than the price of n-1th-order shares. (Rule 10) The maximum number of shares that can be issued is z. In addition, the above-mentioned rule 9 may be, for example, "The price per share of a primary share is the same as or higher than that of a secondary share, and for shares after the secondary share or after the secondary share, the price per share of an nth share is the same as or lower than the price of an (n-1)th share."

[0044] In this embodiment, within the fan club system operated by the server 200, which corresponds to the fan club management device of the present application, primary members who own primary shares and lower-level members who own lower-level shares (excluding Nth-level members) can introduce new users to the fan club. In this embodiment, although not limited to this, a reward similar to a referral fee is paid to members who introduce new users to the fan club. The reward management unit 300 has the function of determining the amount of such reward. The reward management unit 300 corresponds to the calculation unit referred to in this application. The method for calculating the amount of reward and the timing for calculating the amount of reward will be described later. The reward management unit 300 must have the function of calculating the amount of reward, but does not necessarily have the function of paying rewards to users. This point will also be described later.

[0045] Next, the method of use and operation of the fan club management system configured including the server 200 and the terminal 100 described above will be described.

[0046] <User Purchase of Primary Shares> The sale of primary shares by the server 200 is conducted within an initial subscription period, which is a predetermined period from the start of the stock sales, and users can only purchase primary shares during the initial subscription period. The fact that primary shares are being sold is advertised, for example, on a fan club homepage provided by the server 200, thereby informing users that an artist is recruiting fan club members or that primary shares are being sold. As described above, the control unit 222 has the function of determining whether the current date and time is within the initial subscription period. The following process, which describes a user's purchase of primary shares, is executed only during the period in which the control unit 222 determines that the current date and time is within the initial subscription period and before the control unit 222 determines that the initial subscription period has ended. The process performed by a user to purchase primary shares consists of a process of logging in to the server 200 via the terminal 100 (login process) and a process of purchasing primary shares (primary share purchase process). Note that a maximum number of shares that can be issued by the server 200, which serves as a fan club management device, can be set. For example, by setting an upper limit on the number of issuable shares for each of primary shares, subordinate shares, and direct shares, it is possible to set an upper limit on the total number of shares distributed from the server 200. It is also possible to set an upper limit on the number of issuable shares without setting an upper limit on the number of issuable shares for each of primary shares, subordinate shares, and direct shares. In this embodiment, the server 200 does not set an upper limit on the number of issuable shares for each of primary shares, subordinate shares, and direct shares, but sets an upper limit on the number of issuable shares. In this embodiment, although not limited to this, an upper limit is set on the number of primary shares, subordinate shares, and direct shares that a single user can purchase. The upper limit on the number of shares when purchasing each type of share may or may not be the same for all shares. In this embodiment, the upper limit on the number of purchases for each type of share is five shares.

[0047] (Login Process) The login process is performed as follows. However, before the login process is executed, each user notifies the server 200 of their user ID via their terminal 100 and registers the user ID with the server 200 in advance. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment, each user's user ID is recorded in the member information recording unit 226A by the control unit 222. Note that the login process described below is merely an example, and it is of course possible to apply many different login processes available in the world. The terminal 100 may be able to access the server 200 using a dedicated viewer provided by a computer program installed on the terminal 100. However, although not limited to this, in this embodiment, the terminal 100 is able to access the server 200 via the network 400 using a web browser.

[0048] First, a user accesses server 200 by inputting the URL of server 200 into, for example, the address bar of a web browser. The URL is input using input device 102. The URL data travels from input device 102 to control unit 122 via interface 114 and input unit 121. Control unit 122 attaches the URL data to access request data and sends it to the transmission / reception mechanism via output unit 124 and interface 114. The transmission / reception mechanism of terminal 100 transmits the access request data to server 200 specified by the URL via network 400. Server 200 receives the access request data via its transmission / reception mechanism. The access request data is sent from the transmission / reception mechanism to control unit 222 via the interface and input unit 221. The control unit 222 sends data specifying terminal 100 that sent the access request as the destination, as well as data instructing image control unit 228 to generate an image corresponding to a login screen. Image control unit 228 generates image control data for displaying an image on display 101 of terminal 100 in accordance with a command from control unit 222. Image control unit 228 sends the generated image control data, together with data specifying the destination of the data, to the transmission / reception mechanism via output unit 229. The transmission / reception mechanism transmits the image control data via network 400 to terminal 100 specified by the data specifying the destination, i.e., terminal 100 that has sent an access request to server 200.

[0049] Terminal 100 receives image control data via its transmission / reception mechanism. The image control data is sent to control unit 122 via interface 114 and input unit 121, and is then sent from control unit 122 to image generation unit 123. Image generation unit 123 generates image data for displaying an image based on the image control data on display 101. Image generation unit 123 sends the generated image data to output unit 124. The image data is sent from output unit 124 to display 101 via interface 114. An image based on the image data is displayed on display 101. An example of an image displayed on display 101 is shown in FIG. 6(A). This is a so-called login screen. As shown in the figure, the image displayed on display 101 of terminal 100 includes the words "User ID" 501, an input box 502 directly below it, and a button 503 labeled "Send."

[0050] The box 502 directly below the word "User ID" 501 is a space for the user to enter the user ID required for login processing. The button 503 labeled "Submit" is a so-called "Confirm" button, and when the user presses (clicks; the same applies below) this button 503, the user ID displayed in the box 502 at that time is determined as the user ID to be entered. When logging in, the user enters their unique user ID in the box 502 below the word "User ID" 501, as shown in FIG. 6B . Of course, each user typically knows their own user ID, so they can enter the user ID. The user ID is entered using the input device 102. The user ID may be, for example, English letters, numbers, or a combination thereof, and the user can enter the user ID from the input device 102 using a known or commonly known method. The user enters the user ID in the box 502 and presses the button labeled "Submit" 503. When the user presses button 503 labeled "Send," login data is input from input device 102 along with user ID data corresponding to the user ID written in box 502. The login data and user ID data are sent from input device 102 to control unit 122 via interface 114 and input unit 121. Control unit 122 links the login data and user ID data to each other, attaches data specifying server 200 as the destination, and sends the data to output unit 124. The linked login data and user ID data are sent to the transmitting / receiving mechanism via output unit 124 and interface 114, and further sent to server 200 via network 400. As a result, server 200 performs a process of authenticating the user based on the user ID.

[0051] The server 200 receives the linked login data and user ID data via its transmission / reception mechanism. The login data and user ID data are sent from the interface via the input unit 221 to the control unit 222. Upon receiving this data, the control unit 222 performs user authentication processing. The control unit 222 determines whether the user ID sent from the terminal 100 matches the user ID in the member information recording unit 226A, which records all user IDs. If the user ID data sent from the terminal 100 matches one of the user ID data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A, the user using the terminal 100 that sent the user ID is authenticated as the legitimate user with that user ID, and the user is permitted to continue using the fan club management service. On the other hand, if the user ID sent from the terminal 100 is not recorded in the member information recording unit 226A, the above authentication is not performed, and the user is not permitted to use the fan club management service. As already mentioned, a password or other information may be used for authentication.

[0052] When authentication is successful, the control unit 222 instructs the image control unit 228 to generate the next image control data. The image control unit 228 generates the next image control data. This image control data is sent to the terminal 100, just as in the case of image control data for displaying a login screen on the display 101 of the terminal 100. In the terminal 100, just as in the case of displaying a login screen on the display 101 of the terminal 100, the image generation unit 123 generates image data based on the image control data, and the generated image data is sent from the image generation unit 123 to the display 101. As a result, an image such as that shown in FIG. 7A is displayed on the display of the terminal 100. When this image is displayed on the screen of the display 101, the login process ends.

[0053] (Primary Stock Purchase Processing) Primary stock purchase processing is performed as follows. As shown in FIG. 7A, the text 511 "Welcome 111aaaa" is displayed on the screen of the display 101. The "111aaaa" in this text is, of course, just an example, and is the user ID of the user who logged in. The screen of the display 101 also displays the text "Primary stocks can be purchased / Purchase price of 1 share is X" １ This indicates that the stocks that the user can purchase are primary shares and the price per share is X. １ The user can understand that the price per primary share displayed on the screen of the display 101 is determined by the control unit 222 in the server 200 based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit 226B. １ The control unit 222 sends an instruction to the image control unit 228 in the server 200 to generate an image including the price, and the image control unit 228 generates image control data in accordance with the instruction. Therefore, the image data generated by the image generation unit 123 of the terminal 100 based on the image control data is １The message includes the price per primary share. Below the text 512, text 513 reads "Please enter the number of shares you wish to purchase," and a box 514 is displayed for the user to enter the number of shares they wish to purchase. Below that, a button 515 labeled "Submit" is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7B, the user uses the input device 102 to enter the number of primary shares they wish to purchase in the box 514. In FIG. 7B, the user desires to purchase three primary shares. Once the user has decided to purchase that number of primary shares, the user presses the button 515 labeled "Submit." Like button 503, button 515 functions as a confirmation button. In this embodiment, the maximum number of primary shares a user can purchase is five. Therefore, the number that the user can enter in box 514 is limited to one through five. The user may be notified of this by, for example, the image shown in FIG. 7A , or an error message may be displayed when a number greater than or equal to six is ​​entered in box 514. When the user enters the number of primary shares desired to be purchased in box 514 and presses button 515 labeled "Submit," purchase request data is generated and input from input device 102 along with share count data, which is data identifying the number entered in box 514 (the number 3 in this case). The purchase request data and share count data are sent from input device 102 to control unit 122 via interface 114 and input unit 121. The control unit 122 links the purchase request data and share count data together, attaches data specifying server 200 as the destination, and sends them to output unit 124. The linked data are sent to the transmitting / receiving mechanism via output unit 124 and interface 114, and further sent to server 200 via network 400.

[0054] The server 200 receives the linked purchase request data and share count data sent via the network 400 through its transmission / reception mechanism. The data is sent from the transmission / reception mechanism to the control unit 222 via the interface and input unit 221. When the linked purchase request data and share count data are received during the initial subscription period, the control unit 222 links the user ID data of the logged-in user with the share count data and sends them to the primary share management unit 223A. The primary share management unit 223A retains the user ID data and the share count data. In this case, the number of primary shares specified by the share count data and desired to be purchased by the user identified by the user ID is, so to speak, waiting for payment. Meanwhile, the control unit 222 determines (calculates) the purchase price to be paid by the user for the number of primary shares desired to be purchased by the user. Because the control unit 222 knows that the price per share of the primary shares is X1, it can simply multiply the price per share by the number specified by the share count data to determine the price of the primary shares that the user must pay. In this example, the price is 3 × X1. After determining the price of the primary shares that the user must pay, the control unit 222 promptly sends the price of the primary shares and information identifying the user who will pay the price (e.g., user ID data) to the payment management unit 225. This corresponds to the information on the price awaiting payment, as described above. The control unit 222 also instructs the image control unit 228 to generate the next image control data. This instruction includes information on the purchase price of the primary shares that the user is attempting to purchase. The image control unit 228 generates the next image control data. This image control data is sent to the terminal 100, just like the image control data for displaying a login screen on the display 101 of the terminal 100. In terminal 100, just as when a login screen is displayed on display 101 of terminal 100, image generation unit 123 generates image data based on the image control data, and the generated image data is sent from image generation unit 123 to display 101. As a result, an image such as that shown in FIG.When this image is displayed on the screen of the display 101, the user has provisionally reserved three primary shares.

[0055] As shown in Fig. 8, the screen of the display 101 displays the text 521 "Welcome 111aaaa." The "111aaaa" in this text is the user ID of the logged-in user, just like the text 511. The screen of the display 101 also displays the text "The purchase price for three primary shares is 3 x X" １ The text 522 reads, "The purchase price is ____." In other words, the image displayed on the display 101 reflects the price of the stocks that the user is about to purchase. This allows the user to recognize the purchase price of the three primary shares that he or she is purchasing. The screen of the display 101 also displays the text 523, "If you pay the purchase price within one day, the shares will be issued. The payment method is ____." This text allows the user to recognize the payment deadline and payment method for the purchase price of the stocks. Of course, the payment deadline is not limited to one day. Furthermore, there may be multiple payment methods.

[0056] The user makes payment to the fan club by the payment deadline. Payment methods can follow conventional technology. For example, payment can be made by credit card or electronic payment service. Payment can also be made by bank transfer. When payment for the primary shares is made, payment data, which is data indicating at least which user paid how much to the fan club, is input to the payment management unit 225 from an external device that manages payments, such as a payment device managed by a bank, credit card company, or electronic payment provider. The payment data is, for example, sent to the server 200 via the network 400, received by the server 200's transmission / reception mechanism, and then received by the payment management unit 225 via the interface, input unit 221, and control unit 222. If the payment amount to the user and fan club indicated in the received payment data matches the user and amount previously received from the control unit 222 and awaiting payment, the payment management unit 225 generates payment completion data indicating that the payment for the primary shares awaiting payment has been made. The payment data is sent from the payment management unit 225 to the primary stock management unit 223A via the control unit 222. If the user does not make the appropriate payment by the payment deadline, the payment management unit 225, which does not receive the payment data, does not generate the payment data. Therefore, the following processing is not executed, so the issuance of primary stocks is not decided by the primary stock management unit 223A, and the user does not receive stock data for the primary stocks. This situation when the user does not make the appropriate payment by the payment deadline is also the same when the user desires the issuance of subordinate shares or direct shares. Upon receiving the payment data, the primary stock management unit 223A decides to issue the number of primary shares corresponding to the share count data sent by the user corresponding to the payment. After making this decision, the primary stock management unit 223A sends the user ID of the user who will acquire the primary shares and data specifying the type of shares (primary shares) to be allocated to the user (hereinafter referred to as stock type data).) and the share count data, which is data specifying the number of shares that the user will hold, are sent to the member information recording unit 226A and the share data generation unit 224 in a linked state.

[0057] The member information recording unit 226A records a user ID, stock type data, and share count data, each linked to the other. An example of data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A is shown in FIG. 9A. The stock data generation unit 224 receives the user ID, stock type data, and share count data and generates stock data corresponding to the shares to be issued to the user. The number of stock data items generated is the number specified by the share count data. While any method may be used to generate stock data, in this embodiment, the stock data is generated as follows. In the example described so far, a user with user ID "111aaaa" attempted to purchase "3" shares of stock type data "Primary Shares" corresponding to the share count data. In this case, the stock data generation unit 224 generates the first of the three stock data items by performing a predetermined calculation on the character string "111aaaa / Primary / First" to obtain a hash. Similarly, the stock data generation unit 224 performs a predetermined calculation on the string "111aaaa / 1st / 2nd" to obtain a hash as the second stock data, and performs a predetermined calculation on the string "111aaaa / 1st / 3rd" to obtain a hash as the third stock data. In other words, in this example, the stock data is generated as a hash obtained from the string "user ID / stock type data / stock data generation order." Since the "user ID" is unique for each user and the "stock data generation order" is unique among the stocks held by the same user, adopting this stock data generation method essentially ensures that all stock data provided to all users is unique. If it is desirable to avoid generating identical stock data, the plain text string "user ID / stock type data / stock data generation order" can be concatenated with a hash obtained from the string "user ID / stock type data / stock data generation order," thereby ensuring that all stock data provided to all users is unique. After generating stock data for the primary stock, the stock data generation unit 224 sends the generated stock data to the output unit 229 in a linked state together with information specifying the user's terminal 100 to which the data is to be sent.The output unit 229 sends the stock data and the information specifying the destination to the transmission / reception mechanism via the interface. The transmission / reception mechanism transmits the stock data to the terminal 100 of the user specified by the information specifying the destination, i.e., the terminal 100 of the logged-in user, via the network 400.

[0058] A logged-in user receives stock data via the terminal 100, more specifically, via the transmission / reception mechanism of the terminal 100. The stock data is sent from the transmission / reception mechanism to the control unit 122 via the interface 114 and the input unit 121. The control unit 122 sends the stock data to the stock data recording unit 125, which records the stock data there. The user then possesses primary stocks, or more precisely, stock data representing the primary stocks, and thus has the rights of a fan club member. While not limited to stock data for primary stocks, the stock data may be data for displaying a two-dimensional barcode or other barcode on the display 101 of the terminal 100, or data including data for displaying a barcode. In this case, the barcode displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 based on the stock data may be data indicating that the user who displayed the barcode on the display 101 based on the stock data, i.e., the user who owns the stock data, is a fan club member. The barcode may contain information not only indicating that the user is a fan club member, but also the type of stocks the user holds (the level of membership the user has) and the number of shares the user holds. The barcode may also contain the user's user ID. For example, when an artist holds an event, a fan club representative may be able to determine whether the user holds fan club shares, and, if possible, the type of shares the user holds and the number of shares the user holds, by reading the barcode displayed by the user on display 101 of terminal 100 with an appropriate barcode reader.

[0059] In any case, many users purchase primary shares through the above-described process. As many users purchase primary shares, many sets of the three pieces of data described above are written to the member information recording unit 226A. As a result, a database indicating which members (users) own which shares and how many shares is started to be constructed in the member information recording unit 226A. An example of data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A is shown in FIG. 9(B). At this point, while the initial subscription period is still in progress, only the sale of primary shares is taking place. After that, when the initial subscription period ends, the control unit 222 determines that the initial subscription period has ended. This marks the end of the initial subscription period during which primary shares are sold, and sales of subordinate shares and direct shares begin.

[0060] <User Purchase of Subordinate Shares> The sale of subordinate shares by the server 200 is conducted after the initial subscription period has ended. The fact that subordinate shares are being sold is advertised, for example, on the fan club homepage provided by the server 200, thereby allowing users to know that an artist is seeking members for its fan club or that subordinate shares are being sold. Furthermore, users who own primary shares (fan club members) or, if there are up to Nth-order shares, users who own up to N-1th-order shares can invite new users who are not yet members of the fan club to join the fan club as new members. Therefore, users can also learn that an artist is seeking members for its fan club or that subordinate shares are being sold by being invited to join the fan club. As described above, the control unit 222 has the function of determining whether the current date and time is within the initial subscription period. The following process for a user's purchase of subordinate shares is executed after the control unit 222 determines that the current date and time is after the initial subscription period has ended. The process performed by a user to purchase lower-tier shares consists of a process of logging in to the server 200 via the terminal 100 (login process) and a process of purchasing lower-tier shares (lower-tier share purchase process). In this embodiment, the lower-tier shares range from second-tier shares to Nth-tier shares (N is a predetermined natural number greater than or equal to 3). While this is not necessarily the case, in this embodiment, N is assumed to be 5. In other words, the lower-tier shares range from second-tier shares to fifth-tier shares. Members who hold first-tier shares to fourth-tier shares have the right to invite new users to the fan club, while members who hold fifth-tier shares do not have such a right. In other words, Nth-tier members who hold Nth-tier shares do not have the right to invite other users to the fan club.

[0061] (Login Process) The login process is performed as follows. In this case, the user who is a candidate to become a new member performs the login process. Like a user who wishes to purchase primary shares, each user is required to notify the server 200 of their user ID via their terminal 100 and register the user ID in advance with the server 200 before the login process is performed. A user who purchases subordinate shares also accesses the server 200 using their terminal 100. In this case, the terminal 100 also accesses the server 200 via the network 400 using a web browser, although this is not limited to this case.

[0062] The user accesses the server 200 by entering the URL of the server 200 into, for example, the address bar of a web browser, in the same manner as when purchasing primary shares. Then, in the same manner as when purchasing primary shares, access request data is sent from the terminal 100 to the server 200, and image control data is sent back from the server 200 to the terminal 100 that sent the access request. As explained in the case where primary shares are purchased, an image based on image data generated by the image generation unit 123 based on the image control data is displayed on the screen of the display 101 of the terminal 100. An example of the image displayed on the display 101 is shown in Figure 10(A). This is a so-called login screen.

[0063] The image displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 is essentially the same as the login screen when a user attempts to purchase primary shares. As shown, it includes the words "User ID" 501, an input box 502 directly below it, and a button 503 labeled "Submit." The meaning and function of these elements are the same as those described for the login screen when a user attempts to purchase primary shares. However, in this case, the image also displays the words "Introducer's User ID" 504 and an input box 505 directly below it. Box 505 is a field for entering the user ID of the user who has become the introducer, which is an example of information for identifying the user who has become the introducer for introducing the logged-in user to the fan club. The user attempting to log in can easily learn the user ID of the introducer by being notified of the introducer's user ID by the introducer verbally, by email, or by other means. If there is no introducer, the user does not need to enter the introducer's user ID in box 505. However, if there is an introducer, the user enters the introducer's user ID in box 505. If the introducer is an n-1th-order member, the user attempting to log in is a candidate for an n-th-order member. An introducer is a fan club member, ranging from a first-order member to an N-1th-order member (a fourth-order member in this embodiment). Figure 10(B) shows a state in which the user enters their own user ID in box 502 and the introducer's user ID in box 505. While not limited to this, the introducer's user ID entered in box 505 in Figure 10(B) is "111aaaa," which is the user ID of the user who purchased the primary shares in the example described above for purchasing primary shares. The user ID of the user attempting to log in is "222aabb." After entering their own user ID in box 502 and the introducer's user ID in box 505, the user presses button 503 labeled "Submit."When the user presses the "Send" button 503, login data is input from the input device 102 along with the user ID data corresponding to the user ID written in box 502 and the user ID data corresponding to the introducer's user ID written in box 505. The login data, the user's user ID data, and the introducer's user ID data are sent from the input device 102 via the interface 114 and input unit 121 to the control unit 122. The introducer's user ID data is data for identifying the introducer and is the introducer data that has appeared in the explanation so far. The control unit 122 links the login data and the two user ID data to each other, attaches data specifying the server 200 as the destination, and sends the data to the output unit 124. The linked login data and the two user ID data are sent to the transmission / reception mechanism via the output unit 124 and interface 114, and further sent to the server 200 via the network 400. As a result, the server 200 performs user authentication processing based on the user ID.

[0064] The server 200 receives the linked login data and data for the two user IDs via its transmission / reception mechanism. The login data and data for the two user IDs are sent from the interface via the input unit 221 to the control unit 222. Upon receiving this data, the control unit 222 performs user authentication processing in the same manner as when a primary stock purchase is made. Two user IDs are sent from the terminal 100 to the server 200, and the user ID used for authentication by the control unit 222 is, of course, the user ID of the user who is logging in, that is, the user ID entered in box 502 on the login screen. As already mentioned, if the user is authenticated as a legitimate user, the user is permitted to continue using the fan club management service, whereas if the user is not authenticated, the user is not permitted to use the fan club management service.

[0065] If authentication is successful, the control unit 222 instructs the image control unit 228 to generate the next image control data. The image control unit 228 generates the next image control data. This image control data is sent to the terminal 100, just like the image control data for displaying a login screen on the display 101 of the terminal 100. Before the image control unit 228 generates the next image control data, the control unit 222 determines which of the lower-tier shares, from the second-tier shares to the Nth-tier shares (in this embodiment, N = 5 as described above), the user who requested login can purchase. In other words, the control unit 222 determines which of the lower-tier shares can be sold to the user. To make this determination, the control unit 222 uses the introducer's user ID and the data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A, out of the two user IDs sent from the input unit 221. The control unit 222 searches for user IDs registered in the member information recording unit 226A using the introducer's user ID as a search word. If a user ID identical to the introducer's user ID is found, the stock type data associated with that user ID is read. If the introducer's user ID is "111aaaa," as is clear from FIG. 9B, the stock type data "1st" is read. As described above, if the introducer is an n-1th-order member, the user attempting to log in is a candidate for an nth-order member. In other words, in the case of a sale of lower-order stocks, the logged-in user can purchase lower-order stocks whose order is +1 greater than the order of the stock identified by the read stock type data. The control unit 222 determines the stock whose order is +1 greater than the order of the stock identified by the read stock type data as the lower-order stock that the logged-in user can purchase. The control unit 222 also determines the price per share of that stock. The price per share of each lower-order stock is recorded in the rule recording unit 226B. The control unit 222 reads out the price per share of the nth order stock (where n is a natural number between 2 and N (=5)) that can be purchased by the user from the rule recording unit 226B, and determines the read price as the price of the nth order stock that can be purchased by the user. １And the price of the nth stock is "X １ >X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ Furthermore, although not necessarily limited to this embodiment, the data recorded in the rule recording unit 226B may be such that "when n is a natural number, X ｎ >X ｎ＋１ In other words, in this embodiment, although not limited to this, the n+1 th order stock is always set to be cheaper than the n th order stock, regardless of whether it is a primary stock or a subordinate stock. The price of the n th order stock is X ｎ As described above, the stocks that can be purchased by a user who is trying to purchase stocks in the example described so far are secondary stocks. Therefore, the control unit 222 sets the price of secondary stocks to X ２ The control unit 222 includes data on the type of stocks that the logged-in user can purchase (any of the secondary stocks to the Nth (=5th)th) and the stock price per share of the stock in the instruction to generate image control data to be sent to the image control unit 228. Therefore, based on the image control data generated by the image control unit 228, this information will be reflected in the image that will be displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 later. If rule 9 is "The price per share of a primary stock is the same as or higher than that of a secondary stock, and for stocks after the secondary stock or the second stock onwards, the price per share of an nth stock is the same as or lower than the price of the n-1th stock," then the price X of the primary stock will be １ And the price of the nth stock is "X １ ≧X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ In this case, if n is 2 or more, X ｎ >X ｎ＋１ It is possible to set the whole rule in this way.

[0066] As when a user purchases primary shares, the image control data generated by the image control unit 228 is sent from the server 200 to the terminal 100 of the logged-in user. Then, as when a user purchases primary shares, within the terminal 100, the image generation unit 123 generates an image based on the image control data, and an image is displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 based on the image data sent from the image generation unit 123 to the display 101. An example of the image displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 at this time is shown in Figure 11 (A). When this image is displayed on the screen of the display 101, the login process is completed.

[0067] (Lower-tier stock purchase process) The lower-tier stock purchase process is executed in the same way as the primary stock purchase process. The login screen shown in FIG. 11(A) is the same as the login screen shown in FIG. 7(A) when purchasing primary stock, except for the differences described below. The display 101 displays the text 511, "Welcome 222aabb," which includes the user ID of the logged-in user. The screen of the display 101 also displays the text "You can purchase secondary stocks / The purchase price of one share is X ２ This is because the stocks that users can purchase are secondary stocks and the price per share is X. ２ This is the display that notifies the user that the login screen for purchasing lower-level shares differs from the login screen for purchasing primary shares in this area. If the shares that the user can purchase are nth-level shares, the text 512 will read "You can purchase nth-level shares / The purchase price of one share is X" ｎThe login screen for purchasing secondary shares, like the login screen for purchasing primary shares, also displays the text 512 below it, "Please enter the number of shares you wish to purchase." Also, a button 515 labeled "Submit" is displayed below that. As with purchasing primary shares, the user uses the input device 102 to input the number of n-th order shares (secondary shares in this case) they wish to purchase into the box 514, as shown in FIG. 11(B). In FIG. 11(B), the user wishes to purchase four secondary shares. Once the user has decided to purchase that number of secondary shares, the user presses the button 515 labeled "Submit." The number that can be input into the box 514 is limited to five or less, just like when purchasing primary shares. When the user enters the number of shares they wish to purchase in box 514 and presses button 515 marked "Submit," purchase request data is generated and input from input device 102 along with share count data, which is data identifying the number entered in box 514 (the number 4 in this case). The purchase request data and share count data are sent from input device 102 to control unit 122 via interface 114 and input unit 121. Control unit 122 links the purchase request data and share count data to each other, attaches data specifying server 200 as the destination, and sends them to output unit 124. The linked data are sent to the transmitting / receiving mechanism via output unit 124 and interface 114, and further sent to server 200 via network 400.

[0068] Server 200 receives the mutually linked purchase request data and share count data sent via network 400 through its transmission / reception mechanism. The data is sent from the transmission / reception mechanism to control unit 222 via interface and input unit 221. After the initial subscription period ends, when server 200 receives the mutually linked purchase request data and share count data from terminal 100 of a logged-in user, and if that user has previously sent introducer data, control unit 222 further links the mutually linked purchase request data and share count data with the previously received introducer data (i.e., the introducer's user ID) and sends them to lower-level stock management unit 223B. As a result, lower-level stock management unit 223B retains the user ID data, share count data, and introducer data. The lower-level stock management unit 223B also uses the received introducer data, i.e., the introducer's user ID, as a search word, to search the member information recording unit 226A to read the stock type data for "primary," just as the control unit 222 did earlier, and then increments the order by "+1" to determine that the stocks the user is attempting to purchase are secondary shares. In this way, the lower-level stock management unit 223B is able to determine the type of stocks the user is attempting to purchase (any of secondary to N (=5) order shares) using the introducer data and the data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A. However, the lower-level stock management unit 223B does not need to re-determine the type of stocks the user is attempting to purchase, as already done by the control unit 222, and may instead receive from the control unit 222 the stock type data indicating the type of stocks the user is attempting to purchase, which is information the control unit 222 already has. In either case, with the stock type data now grasped, the lower-level stock management unit 223B holds the user ID data of the user who is trying to purchase shares, stock type data indicating the type of stock the user is trying to purchase, share count data indicating the number of shares the user is trying to purchase, and introducer data indicating the introducer. In this state, the shares indicated by the stock type data in the number specified by the share count data and which the user specified by the user ID wishes to purchase are, so to speak, in a state of waiting for payment.On the other hand, the control unit 222 determines (calculates) the purchase price to be paid by the user for the number of nth order shares that the user wishes to purchase, just as was done in the case of purchasing the first order shares. The control unit 222 determines (calculates) the price per share of the nth order shares that the user wishes to purchase. ｎ (In this example, the price per share of the secondary stock is X ２ Since the price per share is known, the price of the nth share that the user must pay can be calculated by simply multiplying the price per share by the number specified in the share count data. In this example, the price is 4 x X ２ The control unit 222 promptly requests the payment for the nth-order shares (secondary shares in this example) to be paid by the user, and then sends the payment management unit 225 the payment for the nth-order shares and information for identifying the user who will pay the payment (e.g., user ID data). This corresponds to the information on the payment awaiting payment, as described above. The control unit 222 also instructs the image control unit 228 to generate the next image control data. As in the case of purchasing primary shares, this instruction includes information on the payment for the nth-order shares that the user is attempting to purchase. The image control unit 228 generates the next image control data. This image control data is sent to the terminal 100 in the same way as the image control data for displaying a login screen on the display 101 of the terminal 100. In the terminal 100, the image generation unit 123 generates image data based on the image control data, and the generated image data is sent from the image generation unit 123 to the display 101, in the same way as when a login screen is displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100. As a result, an image such as that shown in Fig. 12 is displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100. When this image is displayed on the screen of the display 101, the user has provisionally reserved four secondary shares.

[0069] As shown in Fig. 12, the screen of the display 101 displays the text 521 "Welcome 222aabb." This is the user ID of the logged-in user, as in the case shown in Fig. 8. The screen of the display 101 also displays the text "The purchase price for 4 secondary shares is 4 x X" ２The text 522 reads, "This is the price of the stocks that the user is about to purchase." In other words, the image displayed on the display 101 reflects the price of the stocks that the user is about to purchase. This allows the user to recognize the purchase price of the four secondary shares that the user is about to purchase. The screen of the display 101 also displays text 523 indicating the payment deadline and payment method for the purchase price of the stocks.

[0070] The user makes payment to the fan club by the payment deadline. The payment process is the same for both primary and secondary stock purchases. When the user makes a payment, the payment management unit 225 receives the payment data. If the payment is successful, the payment management unit 225 generates payment data. The payment data is sent from the payment management unit 225 to the lower-tier stock management unit 223B via the control unit 222. Upon receiving the payment data, the lower-tier stock management unit 223B decides to issue to the user corresponding to the payment the number of shares of the type identified by the stock type data corresponding to the share count data sent by the user. After making this decision, the lower-tier stock management unit 223B sends to the member information recording unit 226A the user ID of the user who will acquire the nth-tier shares, the stock type data identifying the type of shares to be allocated to the user (secondary shares in the example described), the share number data identifying the number of shares the user will hold, and the introducer data, all linked together. In addition, the lower-level stock management unit 223B sends the data, excluding the introducer data, from these four pieces of data to the stock data generation unit 224.

[0071] The member information recording unit 226A records a user ID, stock type data, and share count data in a linked state. An example of data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A is shown in FIG. 13(A). In the case of subordinate shares, introducer data (data on the introducer's user ID) is added to the three types of data in the case of primary shares, resulting in a total of four data being recorded in a linked state. The stock data generation unit 224, which receives the user ID, stock type data, and share count data, generates stock data corresponding to the shares to be issued to the user. The number of stock data generated is the same as the number specified by the share count data. As with primary shares, stock data for subordinate shares can be created using any method. In this embodiment, stock data is generated using the same method as for primary shares. That is, stock data for the lower-tier shares is generated as a hash obtained from the string "user ID / stock type data / stock data generation order," or by concatenating the plain text string "user ID / stock type data / stock data generation order" with the hash obtained from the string "user ID / stock type data / stock data generation order." After generating the stock data for the lower-tier shares, the stock data generation unit 224 sends the generated stock data to the output unit 229 in a linked state together with information identifying the user's terminal 100 to which the data is to be sent. As with the primary shares, the stock data for the lower-tier shares is transmitted from the server 200 to the terminal 100 via the network 400 and recorded in the stock data recording unit 125 of the terminal 100, as with the primary shares. This allows the user to have the stock data for the lower-tier shares, or more precisely, the stock data for the lower-tier shares representing the lower-tier shares, and thus to have the rights of a fan club member.

[0072] Through the above-described process, many users purchase lower-tier shares. As many users purchase lower-tier shares, the member information recording unit 226A is filled with a large number of sets of four data: user ID, stock type data, number of shares data, and introducer data. This begins to build a database in the member information recording unit 226A that shows which members (users) own which stocks, how many shares, and, in the case of a user who is a lower-tier member, who the introducer was. An example of data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A is shown in Figure 13(B). While the lower-tier shares are being sold, sales of secondary shares through N (=5)-level shares are being conducted in parallel. In Figure 13(B), a secondary member with user ID "222aabb" joined the fan club through the introduction of a primary member with user ID "111aaaa." Similarly, a tertiary member with user ID "456oopp" joined the fan club through an introduction by a secondary member with user ID "222aabb," a quaternary member with user ID "450cccc" joined the fan club through an introduction by a tertiary member with user ID "456oopp," and a quintic member with user ID "225baab" joined the fan club through an introduction by a quaternary member with user ID "450cccc." The users with user IDs "111aaaa," "222aabb," "456oopp," "450cccc," and "225baab," respectively, form a serial introduction relationship in which the users in front introduce the users in back to the fan club in the order described above. In Figure 13(B), some user IDs and introducer data are boxed, but this is to clearly indicate the users in the above-mentioned introduction relationship and has no other purpose. In this way, new members invite the next member to join the fan club. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the later a user joins the fan club, the lower the price per share of stock purchased to join the fan club. This allows more users to join the fan club operated by server 200, which is the fan club management device.Note that, like other stock data, the lower-level stock data may be data for displaying a two-dimensional barcode or other barcode on the display 101 of the terminal 100, or may include data for displaying a barcode. In this case, the information contained in the barcode displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 based on the stock data may be the same as that of other stock data. The information contained in the barcode may be, for example, a user ID for the user who owns the stock data, stock type data for the stocks held by the user, stock quantity data, and introducer data. As already explained, a fan club representative can access the information contained in the barcode using, for example, an appropriate barcode reader.

[0073] <Purchase of Direct Shares by Users> Direct share sales by the server 200 are conducted after the initial subscription period has ended, similar to the sale of subordinate shares. The following process for user purchases of direct shares is executed after the control unit 222 determines that the current date and time is after the initial subscription period has ended. The fact that direct share sales are being conducted is advertised, for example, on the fan club homepage provided by the server 200, thereby informing users that an artist is seeking members for its fan club or that direct share sales are being conducted. Neither primary members nor subordinate members are involved in direct share sales. Users purchase shares directly from the fan club or from the server 200, which serves as a fan club management device that manages the fan club. After the sale of primary shares has ended, the role of direct shares is to provide a way for users who wish to join a fan club but cannot find an introducer to do so by purchasing shares. The process performed by a user to purchase direct shares consists of a process of logging in to the server 200 via the terminal 100 (login process) and a process of purchasing direct shares (direct share purchase process).

[0074] (Login Process) The login process is performed as follows. When performing the login process, the user accesses the server 200 via the terminal 100, in the same way as when purchasing subordinate shares. As a result, the same login screen as when purchasing subordinate shares is displayed on the display 101 of the user's terminal 100. The login screen is the same as that shown in FIG. 10(A) that was referred to in the explanation of purchasing subordinate shares.

[0075] The image displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 includes the words "User ID" 501, an input box 502 directly below it, a button 503 labeled "Send," the words "Introducer's User ID" 504, and an input box 505 directly below it. Because users who purchase stocks directly do not have an introducer, they do not enter anything in the introducer field. Figure 14 shows a state in which a user enters their own user ID in box 502 and leaves box 505 blank for the introducer's user ID. The user ID of the user attempting to log in is "852qrss." After entering their own user ID in box 502 and leaving box 505 blank, the user presses the button 503 labeled "Send." When the user presses the button 503 labeled "Send," login data is entered from the input device 102 along with the user ID data corresponding to the user ID entered in box 502. The login data and the user's user ID data are sent from the input device 102 to the control unit 122 via the interface 114 and the input unit 121. From there on, the process is the same as when purchasing lower-tier shares. The login data and the user's user ID data are sent from the terminal 100 to the server 200 via the network 400. As a result, the server 200 performs a process of authenticating the user based on the user ID.

[0076] The server 200 receives the login data and user ID data, which are linked to each other, through its transmission / reception mechanism. As is clear from the above explanation, the login data and user ID data are sent to the control unit 222. Upon receiving this data, the control unit 222 performs the user authentication process in the same manner as when a primary stock is purchased. If the user is authenticated as a legitimate user, the user is permitted to use the fan club management service thereafter, whereas if the user is not authenticated, the user is not permitted to use the fan club management service, as already mentioned.

[0077] If authentication is successful, the control unit 222 instructs the image control unit 228 to generate the next image control data. The image control unit 228 generates the next image control data. This image control data is sent to the terminal 100, just like the image control data for displaying a login screen on the display 101 of the terminal 100. The control unit 222 treats a user who requests login without sending introducer data after the sale of primary shares has ended as a user seeking to purchase direct shares. Prior to generating the next image control data in the image control unit 228, the control unit 222 determines the price per share of direct shares, which are shares that the user who requested login can purchase. In this embodiment, the price of direct shares is Y. Data corresponding to the price of direct shares is recorded in the rule recording unit 226B. The control unit 222 determines the price read from the rule recording unit 226B as the price per share of direct shares. The control unit 222 includes data on the types of stocks (direct stocks) that the logged-in user can purchase and the stock prices per share of those stocks in the instruction to generate image control data that is sent to the image control unit 228. Therefore, based on the image control data generated by the image control unit 228, the information will be reflected in the image that is subsequently displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100.

[0078] As when a user purchases primary shares, the image control data generated by the image control unit 228 is sent from the server 200 to the terminal 100 of the logged-in user. Then, as when a user purchases primary shares, within the terminal 100, the image generation unit 123 generates an image based on the image control data, and an image is displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 based on the image data sent from the image generation unit 123 to the display 101. An example of the image displayed on the display 101 of the terminal 100 at this time is shown in Figure 15 (A). When this image is displayed on the screen of the display 101, the login process is completed.

[0079] (Direct Share Purchase Processing) The direct share purchase processing is executed in the same manner as the primary share purchase processing. The login screen shown in FIG. 15(A) is the same as the login screen for the primary share purchase shown in FIG. 7(A), except for the differences described below. Display 101 displays text 541, "Welcome, 852qrss," which includes the user ID of the logged-in user. Display 101 also displays text 542, "You can purchase direct shares / The purchase price per share is Y." This notifies the user that the shares the user can purchase are direct shares and that the price per share is Y. This is the difference between the login screen for direct share purchases and the login screen for primary share purchases. Like the login screen for primary share purchases, the login screen for direct share purchases also displays text 543, "Please enter the number of shares to purchase," below text 542, along with a box 544 for the user to enter the number of shares to purchase. Further below, a button 545 labeled "Submit" is displayed. As with the purchase of primary shares, the user inputs the number of direct shares they wish to purchase in a box 544 using the input device 102, as shown in FIG. 15(B). In FIG. 15(B), the user desires to purchase one direct share. Once they have decided to purchase that number of direct shares, they press the button 545 labeled "Submit." Note that the number that can be input in box 544 is limited to five or less, as with the purchase of primary shares. When the user inputs the number of direct shares they wish to purchase in box 544 and presses the button 545 labeled "Submit," purchase request data is generated and input from the input device 102 along with share count data, which is data identifying the number input in box 544 (in this case, the number 1). As with the purchase of primary shares, the purchase request data and share count data are linked to each other and sent from the terminal 100 to the server 200 via the network 400.

[0080] The server 200 receives the linked purchase request data and share count data sent via the network 400 through its transmission / reception mechanism. These data are then sent from the transmission / reception mechanism to the control unit 222 via the interface and input unit 221. After the initial subscription period ends, when the server 200 receives the linked purchase request data and share count data from the logged-in user's terminal 100, and if the user has not previously sent introducer data, the control unit 222 sends the linked purchase request data and share count data to the direct stock management unit 223C. As a result, the direct stock management unit 223C retains the user ID data and the share count data. In this case, the number of direct stocks specified by the share count data that the user identified by the user ID wishes to purchase is, so to speak, waiting for payment. Meanwhile, the control unit 222 determines (calculates) the purchase price to be paid by the user for the number of direct stocks that the user wishes to purchase. Because the control unit 222 knows that the price per share of the direct stock is Y, it can simply multiply the price per share by the number specified by the share count data to determine the price for the direct stock to be paid by the user. In this example, the price is Y. After determining the price for the direct stock to be paid by the user, the control unit 222 promptly sends the price for the direct stock and user ID data, which is information for identifying the user paying the price, to the payment management unit 225. This corresponds to the price information awaiting payment, as described above. The control unit 222 also instructs the image control unit 228 to generate the next image control data. This instruction includes information on the purchase price of the direct stock that the user is attempting to purchase. The image control unit 228 generates the next image control data. This image control data is sent to the terminal 100, in the same way as the image control data for displaying a login screen on the display 101 of the terminal 100.

[0081] In terminal 100, image generation unit 123 generates image data based on the image control data, and the generated image data is sent from image generation unit 123 to display 101. As a result, an image similar to that shown in FIG. 8 in the case of a primary share purchase or that shown in FIG. 12 in the case of a subordinate share purchase is displayed on display 101 of terminal 100. When this image is displayed on the screen of display 101, the user has provisionally reserved one direct share. From the image displayed on display 101, the user can recognize the purchase price for the one direct share that he or she is purchasing, and also understand the payment deadline and payment method for the share purchase price.

[0082] The user makes payment to the fan club by the payment deadline. The payment process is the same as when purchasing primary shares. When the user makes a payment, the payment management unit 225 receives the payment data. If the payment is successful, the payment management unit 225 generates payment data. The payment data is sent from the payment management unit 225 to the direct stock management unit 223C via the control unit 222. Upon receiving the payment data, the direct stock management unit 223C decides to issue the number of direct stocks corresponding to the share count data sent by the user corresponding to the payment to the user. After making this decision, the direct stock management unit 223C sends to the member information recording unit 226A the user ID of the user who will acquire the direct stocks, stock type data specifying the type of stocks (direct stocks) to be allocated to the user, and share count data specifying the number of shares the user will hold, all linked together. The direct stock management unit 223C then sends these three pieces of data to the stock data generation unit 224.

[0083] The member information recording unit 226A records a user ID, stock type data, and stock count data in a linked state. An example of data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A is shown in FIG. 16 . The stock data generation unit 224 receives the user ID, stock type data, and stock count data and generates stock data corresponding to the stocks to be issued to the user. The number of stock data to be generated is determined based on the stock count data, as in the case of primary stocks. As in the case of primary stocks, any method may be used to generate stock data for direct stocks. In this embodiment, the stock data is generated using the same method as for primary stocks. That is, stock data for direct stocks is also generated as a hash obtained from the string "user ID / stock type data / stock data generation order," or by concatenating the hash obtained from the string "user ID / stock type data / stock data generation order" with the plain text string "user ID / stock type data / stock data generation order." After generating stock data for direct stocks, the stock data generation unit 224 sends the generated stock data to the output unit 229 in a linked state together with information specifying the destination user's terminal 100. As with primary stocks, the stock data for direct stocks is transmitted from the server 200 to the terminal 100 via the network 400, and, as with primary stocks, is recorded in the stock data recording unit 125 of the terminal 100. The user now has direct stocks, or more precisely, stock data for direct stocks that represent direct stocks, and has the rights of a fan club member.

[0084] Through the above-described process, many users purchase direct stocks. As many users purchase direct stocks, the member information recording unit 226A is written with numerous sets of three pieces of data: user ID, stock type data, and share count data. These three pieces of data are added to the data shown in FIG. 13(B), for example. Because the sale of direct stocks occurs in parallel with the sale of subordinate stocks, the above-described three pieces of data for direct stocks may be added to the data shown in FIG. 13(B) in a mixed state with the four sets of data for subordinate stocks. Note that direct stock holders are not permitted to introduce other users to the fan club. For example, after the initial subscription period ends, a user may enter their own user ID in box 502 on the login screen shown in FIG. 10(A) and the user ID of the direct stock holder user who will introduce them in box 505, and then press button 503. This could result in the login data, their own user ID, and the user ID of the direct stock holder user being sent to the server 200, which serves as the fan club management device. In such a case, the server 200 can execute a process such as returning an error message to the terminal 100 that requested login, stating that the introducer is not appropriate. The determination of whether the introducer is appropriate can be made, for example, by the control unit 222 of the server 200. In this embodiment, as described above, the upper limit of the number of shares that can be issued, including primary shares, subordinate shares, and direct shares, is set to, for example, z. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment, the control unit 222 constantly monitors the total number of shares held by each user recorded in the member information recording unit 226A. When the total number of shares held by each user reaches z, the control unit 222 executes a process to stop future sales of shares.

[0085] <Payment of Reward to Introducers> As described above, primary members, who own primary shares, and lower-tier members, who own lower-tier shares (excluding N-level members), can introduce new users to the fan club. In this embodiment, although not limited to this, a reward in the form of a referral fee is paid to members who introduce new users to the fan club. The reward management unit 300 can calculate the amount of reward to be paid to each user, for example, each time lower-tier member data is entered into the member information recording unit 226A. Entering lower-tier member data into the member information recording unit 226A means that a new lower-tier member is created. In this embodiment, since an introducer is always present when a lower-tier member is created, it is reasonable to calculate the amount of reward at that time. In this case, for example, the reward management unit 300 can constantly monitor the member information recording unit 226A to determine whether a lower-tier member has been registered. However, calculating the amount of reward each time new lower-tier member data is entered into the member information recording unit 226A would result in cumbersome processing. To prevent the process from becoming too complicated, the amount of remuneration may be determined by batch processing, for example, once a week or once a month. In this case, the control unit 222, which has a clock function, can be made to send an instruction to the remuneration management unit 300 to calculate the amount of remuneration at predetermined intervals.

[0086] The reward management unit 300 calculates the reward amount for a user who introduces a new user to the fan club, for example, as follows. The reward may or may not be fiat currency. For example, the reward may be data representing monetary value other than fiat currency. Examples of such data include points compatible with fiat currency used in prepaid payment methods in Japan, or points usable only within the fan club (of course, these do not have to be called "points"). Points usable only within the fan club may be, for example, points that can be used to purchase (or exchange for) artist merchandise or creative works provided by the fan club to its members. Furthermore, the reward may be in a form that can be used as a source of "tipping" (trademark), in which viewers send money online to artists who distribute videos. For example, the remuneration management unit 300 may calculate the amount of remuneration to be paid to a user who is an n-1th degree member and who introduced a user who is a candidate for an nth degree member to be higher than the amount of remuneration to be paid to a user who is an nth degree member and who introduced a user who is a candidate for an n+1th degree member. Such rules for determining remuneration can also be recorded in the rule recording unit 226B. The rules for determining remuneration recorded in the rule recording unit 226B are read out by the remuneration management unit 300 at an appropriate timing, such as when the remuneration management unit 300 determines a remuneration, and are used appropriately. The remuneration management unit 300 calculates the amount of remuneration by dividing the introduction fee paid when an mth degree member (where m is a natural number from 1 to N-1) introduces an m+1th degree member by A. ｍ＋１ , and the number of m-th members who became members through a user (yourself) introduction or who have a serial introduction relationship from that user is P ｍ＋１ In this case, the amount may be calculated using the following formula (Formula 1). Here, "having an introduction relationship with a person who became a member through one's introduction" refers to a user who has a serial introduction relationship and joined the fan club later than the user, such as the users with user IDs "111aaaa," "222aabb," "456oopp," "450cccc," and "225baab" described with reference to FIG. 13B. For example, from the perspective of a user with user ID "111aaaa," users with user IDs "222aabb," "456oopp," "450cccc," and "225baab" are users who "have an introduction relationship with a person who became a member through one's introduction." Also, from the perspective of a user with user ID "456oopp," users with user IDs "450cccc" and "225baab" are users who "have an introduction relationship with a person who became a member through one's introduction." This will be explained in more detail. Figure 17 shows the user IDs of users who "have an introduction relationship with someone who became a member through their introduction," starting from a primary member user with user ID "111aaaa." Figure 17 shows that a user with the user ID at the base of the arrow introduced a user with the ID at the tip of the arrow to the fan club. Of course, what is shown in Figure 17 is merely an example. In Figure 17, there is naturally one primary member, two secondary members, six tertiary members, seven quaternary members, and twelve quintic members. When applying Equation 1 to the primary member with user ID "111aaaa," Equation 1 becomes the following (Equation 2). In other words, the amount of reward that the primary member with user ID "111aaaa" should receive is A ２ × (Number of secondary members = 2) + A ３ × (Number of tertiary members = 6) + A ４ × (Number of 4th-level members = 7) + A ５x (number of 5th-order members = 12). Also, in Figure 17, if we take the user who is a secondary member with user ID "222aabb" as the starting point, the users who "have an introduction relationship with someone who became a member through their introduction" are the users included in the area surrounded by the dashed line. In this case, the starting secondary member is naturally one, the tertiary members are four, the quaternary members are three, and the 5th members are six. In this case, when Equation 1 is applied to the secondary member with user ID "222aabb", Equation 1 becomes the following (Equation 3). In other words, the amount of reward that the secondary member with user ID "222aabb" should receive is A ３ × (Number of tertiary members = 4) + A ４ × (Number of 4th members = 3) + A ５ x (number of 5th members = 6)

[0087] Here, A ｍ＋１ is the referral fee per person when an mth member introduces an m+1th member. ｍ >A ｍ＋１ By doing so, the higher up the rank (lower the rank), the greater the reward amount that can be obtained when inviting the next member to the fan club, so it is possible to motivate users to join the fan club at an early stage. ｍ >A ｍ＋１ For example, the following condition can be adopted to achieve this: When m is 3 or more, A ｍ = A ２ ×B ｍ－２(where 0<B<1) In this way, the referral fee decreases by a predetermined percentage as the degree of the introduced user increases. The reward management unit 300 may, for example, perform the above-described reward calculation according to the rules recorded in the rule recording unit 226B, and this is the case in this embodiment. The reward management unit 300 must have the function of calculating the reward amount, but does not necessarily have the function of paying the reward to the user. The reward management unit 300 performs the above-described calculation at a predetermined timing to determine the reward amount. The reward management unit 300 generates reward amount data corresponding to the resulting reward amount for each user, associates the reward amount data with the user ID of the user who should receive the reward amount specified by the reward amount data, and sends the reward amount data to the output unit 229. The output unit 229 sends the associated reward amount data and user ID via a transmission / reception mechanism to a predetermined device that performs payment, such as a payment device managed by a bank, credit card company, electronic payment provider, etc. The payment device then pays the amount specified by the reward amount data from the fan club to the user identified by the user ID. As a result, each user can receive a reward similar to a referral fee from the fan club. In this way, the reward management unit 300 is only responsible for calculating the reward amount, and the server 200, which serves as the fan club management device, does not necessarily have the function of paying rewards to each user. For example, devices (e.g., server devices) that have the function of managing the number of points each user currently has by awarding points to each user or allowing each user to use points to purchase goods or services are currently well known and are used by various retailers, travel agencies, airlines, etc. If the server 200 does not have the reward payment function, for example, the server 200 transmits data indicating the above-mentioned calculated reward amount for each user to the above-mentioned device that has the function of managing points via the Internet, etc.As a result, the above-mentioned device having a function for managing points manages the number of points held by each user, thereby enabling each user to hold points and use the points to purchase goods and services. However, it is also possible to provide the server 200 with a function for paying rewards to each user. Furthermore, mechanisms for realizing "tipping," which is one way of using rewards, are publicly known or well-known. The mechanism for realizing "tipping" may or may not be implemented in the server 200. In the latter case, the mechanism implemented in another device may be available to users. The server 200 may be implemented with functions for managing points and realizing tipping.

[0088] <Granting Other Rights to Users Who Own Stocks> The server 200, which serves as a fan club management device, may grant other rights to users who own stocks, as follows. First, the server 200 may transmit viewing data to the user. The viewing data is data representing the right to listen to music provided by an artist. Those who own this data can listen to music provided by the artist they support via the fan club management device or other devices that operate audio distribution sites, video distribution sites, etc. This right can be granted regardless of the type of stock the user holds. The viewing data may or may not be sent to the terminal 100 at the same time that the data representing the stocks is provided to the user. The viewing data is generated by the viewing management unit 227A. The viewing management unit 227A generates the viewing data when it receives an instruction to generate viewing data from the control unit 222. The control unit 222 issues the above-mentioned instruction to the viewing management unit 227A, for example, when the artist releases a new song. Upon receiving this instruction, the viewing management unit 227A generates viewing data for each user. The viewing data may be generated in any manner and in any format. However, when generating the viewing data, the viewing management unit 227A references the data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A, including the user ID of each user and at least the type of stocks held by each user. The content of the viewing data generated by the viewing management unit 227A may change depending on the type of stocks held by the user. For example, a primary member may be able to listen to a certain song earlier than a lower-level member, or an nth-level member may be able to listen to a wider variety of songs than an n+1th-level member. If the content of viewing data provided to primary members is more advantageous than that provided to lower-level members, or if the content of viewing data provided to higher-ranking members among the lower-level members is more advantageous, users can be motivated to become members of the fan club earlier. Note that the viewing data may or may not be unique to each user.When the viewing data is generated, the viewing management unit 227A links the viewing data with the user ID of the user who is to receive the viewing data and sends it to the output unit 229. The viewing data is sent to the transmission / reception mechanism, and from there to the terminal 100 of each user via the network 400.

[0089] Each user receives viewing data through the terminal 100. The received viewing data is recorded in, for example, the stock data recording unit 125 of the terminal 100 in the same manner as when the terminal 100 receives stock data. The user can listen to the artist's music by transmitting the viewing data from the terminal 100 to a fan club management device or another device operating an audio distribution site or video distribution site. The viewing data then functions like a password for authorization to listen to the audio source or video for listening to the music. Note that if a user listens to music on the terminal 100 with stock data recorded in the stock data recording unit 125, the terminal 100 will also need the function to play audio data or video data and output the audio from a speaker, earphones, etc. To enable this, the terminal 100 may need to include a functional block such as an audio generation unit similar to the image generation unit 123. Since mechanisms for outputting audio from speakers, earphones, etc. are, of course, well-known, a description thereof will be omitted. Rules regarding the provision of viewing data, such as the content of the viewing data to be provided to the user and the timing of providing the viewing data, can also be recorded in rule recording unit 226B. In this case, viewing management unit 227A may be configured to generate viewing data in accordance with the rules recorded in rule recording unit 226B.

[0090] The server 200 may also transmit viewing data to users. The viewing data is data representing the right to view a live performance provided by an artist and is equivalent to a live performance ticket. A person who possesses this data can view a live performance provided by an artist they support. This right can be granted regardless of the type of stock the user holds. The viewing data may or may not be sent to the terminal 100 at the same time that the data representing the stock is provided to the user. The viewing data is generated by the viewing management unit 227B. The viewing management unit 227B generates the viewing data when it receives an instruction to generate viewing data from the control unit 222. The control unit 222 issues the above-mentioned instruction to the viewing management unit 227B, for example, when an artist announces a new live performance schedule. Upon receiving such an instruction, the viewing management unit 227B generates viewing data for each user. The viewing data may be generated using any method or format. However, when generating viewing data, the viewing management unit 227B references the data recorded in the member information recording unit 226A, including each user's user ID and at least the type of stocks held by each user. The content of the viewing data generated by the viewing management unit 227B may be changed depending on the type of stocks held by the user. For example, the content of viewing data sent to secondary members may be the same as or less favorable than the content of viewing data sent to primary members, and the content of viewing data sent to nth-order members may be the same as or less favorable than the content of viewing data sent to n-1th-order members. If more upstream members (holding lower-order stocks) could receive viewing data with more favorable, or at least less unfavorable, content from the server 200, which serves as the fan club management device, users could be motivated to become fan club members earlier. Note that viewing data may or may not be unique to each user. The advantages and disadvantages of the viewing data can be realized, for example, by the number of times a live show has been viewed, the quality of the seats at the live show, and the like.Of course, the contents of the viewing data can be made advantageous or disadvantageous depending on whether or not the right to visit the dressing room during a live performance or the right to purchase specific merchandise related to the artist is granted. Once the viewing data is generated, the viewing management unit 227B sends the viewing data to the output unit 229 while linking it with the user ID of the user who is to receive it. The viewing data is sent to the transmission / reception mechanism, and from there it is sent to each user's terminal 100 via the network 400.

[0091] Each user receives viewing data through the terminal 100. The received viewing data is recorded, for example, in the stock data recording unit 125 of the terminal 100 in the same manner as when the terminal 100 receives stock data. The user uses the viewing data, for example, when entering a live venue. For example, the viewing data can be used like a ticket for the live performance by delivering the viewing data to the organiser of the live performance via Wi-Fi (trademark) or other short-range wireless communication, or by displaying a two-dimensional barcode based on the viewing data on the display 101 of the terminal 100. Rules regarding the provision of viewing data, such as the content of the viewing data provided to the user and the timing of providing the viewing data, can also be recorded in the rule recording unit 226B. In this case, the viewing management unit 227B may be configured to generate viewing data according to the rules recorded in the rule recording unit 226B.

[0092] <Other> Regardless of the type of stock, stock data that has been issued and becomes the property of each user can be subject to transfer. For example, stock data may be transferred between private individuals at a price agreed upon by the transferor and transferee, similar to shares related to the status or rights of a member (shareholder) of a corporation. In such cases, the transfer of stock data can transfer all rights related to the stock data from the transferor to the transferee.

[0093] 100 Terminal 101 Display 102 Input device 121 Input unit 122 Control unit 123 Image generation unit 124 Output unit 125 Stock data recording unit 221 Input unit 222 Control unit 223A Primary stock management unit 223B Lower level stock management unit 223C Direct stock management unit 224 Stock data generation unit 225 Payment management unit 226A Member information recording unit 226B Rule recording unit 227A Viewing management unit 227B Viewing management unit 228 Image control unit 229 Output unit 300 Remuneration management unit

Claims

1. A fan club management device that manages a fan club, which is a group of fans who support a specific artist, by distributing shares representing membership in the fan club to the users in combination with a plurality of user terminals used by a plurality of users each connected to a specific network and capable of communicating via the network, comprising: a transmission / reception mechanism capable of communicating via the network; a rule recording unit that records the rules of the fan club; a member information recording unit that records, for each member, information regarding the shares held by the members; and an information processing unit that uses data sent from the user terminal via the network to the transmission / reception mechanism to perform information processing based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, and wherein the information processing unit distributes the shares at X per share from the users who are not members via the user terminals and the network during an initial recruitment period, which is a predetermined period after recruitment for members begins. １ The person sends a statement of intent to purchase at a price of X and data indicating the number of shares he or she wishes to purchase. １ a primary stock management section which, when a payment of the price calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording section, decides to issue to the user the number of primary shares, which are a type of the stock, that the user wishes to purchase, and records in the member information recording section that the user is a primary member and the number of primary shares to be issued to the user; and, when a user who has been introduced by the primary member is defined as a secondary member candidate, a user who has been introduced by the secondary member as a tertiary member candidate, ... a user who has been introduced by an n-1st member as an nth member candidate (where n is a natural number between 2 and N, and N is a predetermined natural number greater than or equal to 3), after the initial recruitment period has ended, issues the shares to the user who is an nth member candidate who has been introduced by an n-1st member via the user terminal and the network at X per share. ｎ The person sends a statement of intent to purchase at a price of X and data indicating the number of shares he or she wishes to purchase. ｎ a lower-level stock management unit which, when a payment calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, decides to issue to the user the number of nth-level shares, which are a type of stock, that the user wishes to purchase, and records in the member information recording unit that the user is an nth-level member, the number of the nth-level shares to be issued to the user, and information identifying the member who introduced the user; and a stock data generation unit which generates stock data corresponding to the primary stock that the primary stock management unit has decided to issue to the user, or the nth-level shares that the lower-level stock management unit has decided to issue to the user, and transmits the stock data via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network to a user terminal of a user who is to become the owner of the stock corresponding to the stock data, and, according to the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, １ ≧X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ A fan club management device that satisfies the above conditions.

2. The price of the said stock is X １ >X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ 2. The fan club management device according to claim 1, wherein the following condition is satisfied:

3. The price of the stock is X, where n is a natural number. ｎ >X ｎ＋１ The fan club management device according to claim 1 or 2, 4. A fan club management device as described in claim 1, further comprising a calculation unit which calculates a specified amount of reward to be paid to a user who is an (n-1)th degree member and who introduces a user who is a candidate for an nth degree member, based on the data recorded in the member information recording unit.

5. A fan club management device as described in claim 4, wherein the calculation unit is configured to calculate the amount of reward to be paid to the user who is an n-1th degree member and who has introduced a user who is a candidate for an nth degree member to be higher than the amount of reward to be paid to the user who is an nth degree member and who has introduced a user who is a candidate for an n+1th degree member.

6. The amount of the reward is calculated as follows: A is the referral fee when an mth member (where m is a natural number from 1 to N-1) introduces an m+1th member. ｍ＋１ Let P be the number of m-th order members, who are users who became members through a user's introduction or who have a serial introduction relationship with that user. ｍ＋１ 5. The fan club management device according to claim 4, wherein the amount is calculated by the following formula (Formula 1) when 7. A ｍ >A ｍ＋１ The fan club management device according to claim 6 , 8. When m is 3 or more, A ｍ = A ２ ×B ｍ－２ 8. The fan club management device according to claim 7, wherein 0<B<1.

9. The fan club management device according to claim 4, wherein the reward is data representing a monetary value other than legal tender.

10. A fan club management device as described in claim 1, further comprising a direct stock management unit which, when, after the initial recruitment period has ended, an expression of intent to purchase the shares at a price of Y per share and data indicating the number of shares desired to be purchased are sent from a user who is not a member via the user terminal and the network, and a payment calculated by multiplying Y by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, decides to issue to the user direct stocks, which are a type of stock, in the number desired by the user to purchase, and records in the member information recording unit that the user is a direct member and the number of direct shares to be issued to the user, and wherein the stock data generation unit generates stock data which corresponds to the direct stocks that the direct stock management unit has decided to issue to the user, and transmits the stock data via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network to the user terminal of the user who is to become the owner of the shares corresponding to the stock data.

11. A fan club management device as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a rights management unit which generates rights data corresponding to the right of said member user to receive data on creative works provided by said artist based on data recorded in said member information recording unit, and transmits the generated rights data to said user terminal of said member user via said transmission / reception mechanism and said network.

12. The fan club management device according to claim 11, wherein the artist is a musician, and the rights data is listening data corresponding to the right to listen to music provided by the artist.

13. A fan club management device as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a viewing management unit which generates viewing data corresponding to the right of the user who is a member to view a live performance provided by the artist based on data recorded in the member information recording unit, and transmits the generated viewing data to the user terminal of the user who is a member via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network.

14. A fan club management device as described in claim 13, wherein the content of the viewing data sent to the secondary members is the same as or less favorable than the content of the viewing data sent to the primary members, and the content of the viewing data sent to the nth members is the same as or less favorable than the content of the viewing data sent to the n-1th members.

15. A fan club management device that manages a fan club, which is a group of fans who support a specific artist, by distributing shares representing membership in the fan club to the users in combination with a plurality of user terminals used by a plurality of users each connected to a specific network and capable of communicating via the network, comprising: a transmission / reception mechanism capable of communicating via the network; a rule recording unit that records the rules of the fan club; a member information recording unit that records, for each member, information regarding the shares held by the members; and an information processing unit that uses data sent from the user terminal via the network to the transmission / reception mechanism to perform information processing based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, wherein the information processing unit distributes the shares at X shares per share from the users who are not members via the user terminals and the network during an initial recruitment period, which is a predetermined period after recruitment for members begins. １ The person sends a statement of intent to purchase at a price of X and data indicating the number of shares he or she wishes to purchase. １ a primary stock management process for determining, when a payment calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording section, to issue to the user the number of primary stocks, which are a type of stock, that the user wishes to purchase, and for recording in the member information recording section that the user is a primary member and the number of primary stocks to be issued to the user; and a process for determining, when a user who has been introduced by the primary member is defined as a secondary member candidate, a secondary member as a tertiary member candidate, a user who has been introduced by the n-1st member as a nth member candidate (where n is a natural number between 2 and N, and N is a predetermined natural number greater than or equal to 3), to purchase the shares from the user who is an nth member candidate who has been introduced by the n-1st member via the user terminal and the network after the initial recruitment period has ended, at X shares per share. ｎ The person sends a statement of intent to purchase at a price of X and data indicating the number of shares he or she wishes to purchase. ｎ a lower-level stock management process for, when a payment calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase has been made to the fan club, determining to issue to the user the number of nth-level shares, which are a type of stock, that the user wishes to purchase in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, and recording in the member information recording unit that the user is an nth-level member, the number of the nth-level shares to be issued to the user, and information identifying the member who introduced the user; and a stock data generation process for generating stock data, which is data corresponding to the primary stock decided to be issued to the user in the primary stock management process, or data corresponding to the nth-level stock decided to be issued to the user in the lower-level stock management process, and transmitting the stock data via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network to a user terminal of a user who is to become the owner of the stock corresponding to the stock data, and １ ≧X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ A method for satisfying the above condition.

16. A computer program for causing a specified computer to function as a fan club management device that manages a fan club, which is a collection of fans who support a specified artist, by distributing shares representing membership in the fan club to the users by combining a specified computer with a plurality of user terminals connected to a specified network and capable of communicating via the network, comprising: a transmission / reception mechanism capable of communicating via the network; a rule recording unit that records the rules of the fan club; a member information recording unit that records, for each member, information regarding the shares held by the members; and an information processing unit that uses data sent by the transmission / reception mechanism from the user terminals via the network to perform information processing based on the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, wherein the computer program causes the information processing unit to receive, during an initial recruitment period, which is a specified period after recruitment for members begins, X shares per share of the shares from the users who are not members, via the user terminals and the network. １ The person sends a statement of intent to purchase at a price of X and data indicating the number of shares he or she wishes to purchase. １ a primary stock management process for determining, when a payment calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording section, to issue to the user the number of primary stocks, which are a type of stock, that the user wishes to purchase, and for recording in the member information recording section that the user is a primary member and the number of primary stocks to be issued to the user; and a process for determining, when a user who has been introduced by the primary member is defined as a secondary member candidate, a secondary member as a tertiary member candidate, a user who has been introduced by the n-1st member as a nth member candidate (where n is a natural number between 2 and N, and N is a predetermined natural number greater than or equal to 3), to purchase the shares from the user who is an nth member candidate who has been introduced by the n-1st member via the user terminal and the network after the initial recruitment period has ended, at X shares per share. ｎ The person sends a statement of intent to purchase at a price of X and data indicating the number of shares he or she wishes to purchase. ｎ a lower-level stock management process for, when a payment calculated by multiplying the price by the number of shares the user wishes to purchase is made to the fan club, deciding to issue to the user the number of nth-level shares, which are a type of stock, that the user wishes to purchase in accordance with the rules recorded in the rule recording unit, and recording in the member information recording unit that the user is an nth-level member, the number of the nth-level shares to be issued to the user, and information identifying the member who introduced the user; and a stock data generation process for generating stock data, which is data corresponding to the primary stock decided to be issued to the user in the primary stock management process, or data corresponding to the nth-level stock decided to be issued to the user in the lower-level stock management process, and transmitting the stock data via the transmission / reception mechanism and the network to a user terminal of a user who is to become the owner of the stock corresponding to the stock data, and １ ≧X ２ and when n is 2 or more, X ｎ ≧X ｎ＋１ A computer program product configured to satisfy the above conditions.

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