Pandora Media Patent Grants

Country-specific content recommendations in view of sparse country data

Granted: October 2, 2018
Patent Number: 10088978
A content server system provides a user of a client device with a playlist of content, such as streamed audio. The provided playlist is customized for the particular country of the user, even if the content server system has only recently begun to provide content to that country. To customize the playlist for a country lacking a sufficient amount of country-specific statistical data, the content server system generates a number of non-country-specific channels, each channel recommending…

Procedurally generating background music for sponsored audio

Granted: September 4, 2018
Patent Number: 10068556
A content server generates sponsored audio including procedurally generated background music. The content server obtains reference music features describing musicological characteristics of reference songs as well as sponsored audio information received from a third-party. The content server determines music generation parameters based on the sponsored audio information and based on a music model mapping the reference music features to music generation parameters. The music model may…

Dynamically generated audio in advertisements

Granted: May 1, 2018
Patent Number: 9959557
A content server provides a client device with audio content including an audio advertisement, which is provided in response to receiving a request for digital audio content from a client device associated with a user. The content server obtains user information about the user and retrieves advertisement text received from an advertiser, which are used to generate a personalized text advertisement. The personalized text advertisement is generated according to an advertisement template…

Internet radio and broadcast via crowdsourcing apparatus and system

Granted: September 5, 2017
Patent Number: 9754309
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

Internet radio and broadcast apparatus and system with music information and purchasing

Granted: August 22, 2017
Patent Number: 9741067
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

Media content delivery over telephone networks

Granted: August 15, 2017
Patent Number: 9736204
A media service server provides media content to users over telephone networks. The media content server receives a request for media items, where the request is a call placed by a phone. The media content server identifies a user associated with the request, and establishes an audio communication channel with the phone. The media content server selects a media item for the user based on an identity of the user, and provides the media item to the user by playing content of the media item…

Advertisement selection based on demographic information inferred from media item preferences

Granted: August 8, 2017
Patent Number: 9729910
A content server monitors media preferences of a user associated with a partial user profile specifying partial demographic information about the user. The content server deconstructs the monitored media preferences to identify preferences of the user for musicological features of the media items. The content server infers profile information missing from the partial user profile responsive to the preferences of the user for musicological features of the media items, the inferring using…

Internet radio and broadcast method with music purchasing

Granted: September 20, 2016
Patent Number: 9449341
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

Internet radio and broadcast method with artist portal

Granted: September 13, 2016
Patent Number: 9443266
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

Internet radio and broadcast method personalized by genre

Granted: September 6, 2016
Patent Number: 9436962
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

Internet radio and broadcast method personalized by ratings feedback

Granted: August 23, 2016
Patent Number: 9424604
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

Internet radio and broadcast method

Granted: July 5, 2016
Patent Number: 9384509
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

System and method for combining inputs to generate and modify playlists

Granted: June 14, 2016
Patent Number: 9367587
Systems, methods, and computer readable storage mediums are provided for selecting a media content object for a user using a combination of inputs. A media input seed associated with a user is obtained. A plurality of channels of media content objects is obtained. At least one of the plurality of channels is associated with the media input seed. Also, in some embodiments, each media content object of each of those channels has a score specific to that channel. A combination score for a…

Internet radio and broadcast method with discovery settings

Granted: June 7, 2016
Patent Number: 9361645
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

System and method of personalizing playlists using memory-based collaborative filtering

Granted: May 10, 2016
Patent Number: 9335818
Systems and methods are provided for personalizing new song suggestions for a user. A plurality of users provides thumbs up and thumbs down ratings for a pair of songs (song A and B). A first aggregate rating for song B is calculated based on ratings given to song A by all of the users that gave a like rating to song A. Similarly, a second aggregate rating is calculated for song B based on ratings given to song B by all users that gave a dislike rating to song A. Then a user that has not…

Internet radio and broadcast method with selectable explicit lyrics filtering

Granted: March 29, 2016
Patent Number: 9299104
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

Internet radio and broadcast method personalized by DJ

Granted: February 23, 2016
Patent Number: 9269107
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

Internet radio and broadcast method

Granted: April 15, 2014
Patent Number: 8700795
Data streams are generally selected according to user preferences and transmitted to the user in general alignment with expressed preferences of the user. Such data streams may be music, including music videos. Users may indicate their general or specific preferences with regards to song, artists, or albums. Any other aspects or factors that might affect the user's preferences can be taken into account. A playlist is created that combines all of these factors. The playlist then serves as…

Methods and systems for utilizing contextual feedback to generate and modify playlists

Granted: November 6, 2012
Patent Number: 8306976
Systems and methods of generating and modifying a playlist using contextual information are disclosed. For example, a user may provide an input seed such as a song name or artist name. The input seed is compared to database items and a playlist is generated as a result. In some examples, the contextual information is used to enhance the comparison and to select better content objects for a user's playlist. Meanwhile, in some examples the content objects in the playlist may be arranged in…

Methods and systems for utilizing contextual feedback to generate and modify playlists

Granted: June 14, 2011
Patent Number: 7962482
Systems and methods of generating and modifying a playlist using contextual information are disclosed. For example, a user may provide an input seed such as a song name or artist name. The input seed is compared to database items and a playlist is generated as a result. In some examples, the contextual information is used to enhance the comparison and to select better content objects for a user's playlist. Meanwhile, in some examples the content objects in the playlist may be arranged in…