Systems and Methods Enabling Marketing and Distribution of Media Content by Content Creators and Content Providers

Abstract

Systems and methods enabling marketing and distribution of motion pictures and other media content by content creators and other content providers are described herein. A platform is provided by which a plurality of content providers can market and distribute media content to users. Information about activity of the users on the platform is obtained in relation to the item of media content or in relation to media content related to the item of media content. A request is received for an activity report comprising information related to a user demographic or a media content characteristic. Responsive to the activity report request, the activity report is provided to the content provider.

1 . A method of distributing an item of media content associated with a content provider, the method comprising:
 providing a platform by which a plurality of content providers can market and distribute media content to users;   obtaining, using the platform, information about activity of the users on the platform in relation to the item of media content or in relation to media content related to the item of media content;   receiving at the platform a request, by a content provider in the plurality of content providers, for an activity report comprising information related to a user demographic or a media content characteristic; and   responsive to the activity report request, providing, using the platform, the activity report to the content provider.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the platform comprises a server computer, and wherein the content provider interacts with the server computer using a client device that is in communication with the server computer via a network. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the item of media content comprises a digital motion picture, a digital sound recording, a digital book, or a digital image. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content provider is the content creator of the item of media content. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the item of media content is classified within one or more groupings in the set of groupings consisting of genre, country of origin, spoken languages, subtitled languages, period of release, a group of professional or government certifications or ratings, industry festival or event selections, nominee for a particular award or recognition, and awardee of a particular award or recognition. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the item of media content is classified within a group of media related to a particular person or entity. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information about activity of the users on the platform comprises a user demographic or a media content characteristic. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the user demographic comprises age, gender, educational background, financial status, employment background, religion, written or spoken language or languages, race, ethnic identity or background, or sexual orientation or preference. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the user demographic further comprises a geographic location. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the geographic location is a city, state, country, or principality. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the user demographic comprises membership in a grouping or subgrouping of a plurality of users based on a history of individual user interactions with the platform as measured against a plurality of user interactions with the platform. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the media content characteristic comprises one or more genres, a country of origin, one or more spoken languages, a presence of subtitles, a release date, one or more professional or government certifications or ratings, a selection by one or more industry festivals or events, one or more nominations or grant of one or more awards, or a list of participants in the item of media content. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the media content characteristic comprises a list of participants in the item of media content and wherein the list of participants in the item of media content includes one or more contributors to creation of the item of media content. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the contributors to the creation of the item of media content includes one or more directors, one or more producers, one or more production managers, one or more showrunners, one or more creators, one or more cinematographers, one or more writers, one or more actors, one or more art directors, one or more effects supervisors, one or more music supervisors, one or more foley artists, one or more technicians, one or more designers, or one or more editors. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the contributors to the creation of the item of media content includes one or more recording artists, one or more musicians, one or more songwriters, one or more composers, one or more engineers, or one or more mixers. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the contributors to the creation of the item of media content includes one or more programmers, one or more developers, one or more character designers, one or more graphic designers, or one or more artists. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the list of participants in the item of media content further includes one or distributors of the item of media content, one or more subdistributors of the item of media content, one or more producer's representatives for the item of media content, one or more sales agents involved in sale of the item of media content, one or more buyers involved in purchase of the item of media content, one or more aggregators involved in aggregation of the item of media content, one or more publishers of the item of media content, one or more networks involved in communication of the item of media content, one or more broadcasters involved in broadcast of the item of media content, or one or more syndicators involved in syndication of the item of media content. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the information about activity of the users on the platform comprises a media content characteristic and wherein the media content characteristic comprises a grouping or subgrouping of the item of media content based on the history of a plurality of user interactions with the item of media content as measured against a plurality of user interactions with media content different than the item of media content. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the information about user activity on the platform further comprises a license characteristic. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the license characteristic comprises a purchase price, an availability of content over a fixed period of time, an availability to download content or a geographic availability. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the activity report request further comprises information related to a license characteristic for media content. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a marketing request by the content provider to market the item of media content, provided by the content provider of the item of media content, to a subset of a plurality of users; and   marketing, responsive to the marketing request and using the platform, the item of media content to the subset of users.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the subset of users are of a particular demographic. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the particular demographic comprises a shared membership in at least one of age or age range, gender, educational background, financial status, employment background, religion, written or spoken language or languages, race, ethnic identity or background, or sexual orientation or preference. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the particular demographic further comprises a geographic location. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the geographic location is a city, a state, a country, or a principality. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the particular demographic comprises a membership in a grouping or subgrouping of the plurality of users based on (i) a history of individual user interaction with the platform as measured against (ii) an aggregate of a plurality of user interactions with the platform. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 distributing of the item of media content to at least one user; and   receiving at the platform a request from the content provider to further market or distribute the item of media content to a subset of users in a plurality of users.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the subset of the users comprises users of a particular demographic. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the particular demographic comprises a shared membership in at least one of age or age range, gender, educational background, financial status, employment background, religion, written or spoken language or languages, race, ethnic identity or background, or sexual orientation or preference. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the particular demographic further comprises a geographic location. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the geographic location is a city, a state, a country, or a principality. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the particular demographic comprises a membership in a grouping or subgrouping of the plurality of users based on (i) a history of the individual user interactions with the platform as measured against (ii) an aggregate of a plurality of user interactions with the platform. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing an updated activity report to the content creator, the updated activity report including information about user activity subsequent to a marketing or a distribution of the item of media content. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising marketing the item of media content to a subset of users in a plurality of users. 
     
     
         37 . A method of distributing an item of media content associated with a content provider, the method comprising:
 providing a platform by which a plurality of content providers can market and distribute media content to users;   obtaining, using the platform, information about activity of the users on the platform in relation to the item of media content or in relation to media content related to the item of media content;   receiving at the platform a request, by a content provider in the plurality of content providers, for an activity report comprising information related to a license characteristic for media content; and   responsive to the activity report request, providing, using the platform, the activity report to the content provider.   
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the activity report further comprises information related to a user demographic or a media content characteristic. 
     
     
         39 . A method of distributing an item of media content created by a content creator, using a platform by which a first plurality of users can market and distribute media content to a second plurality of users, wherein the platform comprises one or more programmed computers that are individually or collectively suitably programmed to:
 (A) obtain information about activity of the second plurality of users over the Internet or a computer network;   (B) receive, at the platform, a first request for an activity report about user activity with respect to media content having a particular characteristic, wherein the first request is received over the Internet or the computer network from the content creator and wherein the media content includes media that was not created by the content creator; and   (C) provide, responsive to the first request, the activity report to the content creator over the Internet or the computer network.   
     
     
         40 . The method of  39 , wherein the one or more programmed computers are further individually or collectively suitably programmed to:
 (D) receive, responsive to the activity report, a second request over the Internet or the computer network by the content creator to market the item of media content created by the content creator to a first subset of the second plurality of users; and   (E) market, responsive to the second request, the item of media content using the platform over the Internet or the computer network to the first subset of the second plurality of users.   
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the selection of the first subset of the second plurality of users is responsive to the activity report. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  39 , wherein the one or more programmed computers are further individually or collectively suitably programmed to:
 (D) distribute, using the platform the item of media content over the Internet or the computer network to at least one user in the first subset of the second plurality of users; and   (E) receive, at the platform, a second request from the content creator to market or distribute the item of media content to a second subset of the second plurality of users and wherein the second request is received over the Internet or the computer network.   
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein the selection of the second subset of the second plurality of users is responsive to the activity report. 
     
     
         44 . A computer-implemented system of distributing an item of media content associated with a content provider, the system comprising:
 a data processor;   a computer-readable memory encoded with instructions for commanding the data processor to execute steps that include:
 providing a platform by which a plurality of content providers can market and distribute media content to users; 
 obtaining, using the platform, information about activity of the users on the platform in relation to the item of media content or in relation to media content related to the item of media content; 
 receiving at the platform a request, by a content provider in the plurality of content providers, for an activity report comprising information related to a user demographic or a media content characteristic; and 
 responsive to the activity report request, providing, using the platform, the activity report to the content provider. 
   
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the platform comprises a server computer, and wherein the content provider interacts with the server computer using a client device that is in communication with the server computer via a network. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the item of media content comprises a digital motion picture, a digital sound recording, a digital book, or a digital image. 
     
     
         47 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the content provider is the content creator of the item of media content. 
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the item of media content is classified within one or more groupings in the set of groupings consisting of genre, country of origin, spoken languages, subtitled languages, period of release, a group of professional or government certifications or ratings, industry festival or event selections, nominee for a particular award or recognition, and awardee of a particular award or recognition. 
     
     
         49 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the item of media content is classified within a group of media related to a particular person or entity. 
     
     
         50 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the information about activity of the users on the platform comprises a user demographic or a media content characteristic. 
     
     
         51 . The system of  claim 50 , wherein the user demographic comprises age, gender, educational background, financial status, employment background, religion, written or spoken language or languages, race, ethnic identity or background, or sexual orientation or preference. 
     
     
         52 . The system of  claim 51 , wherein the user demographic further comprises a geographic location. 
     
     
         53 . The system of  claim 52 , wherein the geographic location is a city, state, country, or principality. 
     
     
         54 . The system of  claim 50 , wherein the user demographic comprises membership in a grouping or subgrouping of a plurality of users based on a history of individual user interactions with the platform as measured against a plurality of user interactions with the platform. 
     
     
         55 . The system of  claim 50 , wherein the media content characteristic comprises one or more genres, a country of origin, one or more spoken languages, a presence of subtitles, a release date, one or more professional or government certifications or ratings, a selection by one or more industry festivals or events, one or more nominations or grant of one or more awards, or a list of participants in the item of media content. 
     
     
         56 . The system of  claim 50 , wherein the media content characteristic comprises a list of participants in the item of media content and wherein the list of participants in the item of media content includes one or more contributors to creation of the item of media content. 
     
     
         57 . The system of  claim 56 , wherein the contributors to the creation of the item of media content includes one or more directors, one or more producers, one or more production managers, one or more showrunners, one or more creators, one or more cinematographers, one or more writers, one or more actors, one or more art directors, one or more effects supervisors, one or more music supervisors, one or more foley artists, one or more technicians, one or more designers, or one or more editors. 
     
     
         58 . The system of  claim 56 , wherein the contributors to the creation of the item of media content includes one or more recording artists, one or more musicians, one or more songwriters, one or more composers, one or more engineers, or one or more mixers. 
     
     
         59 . The system of  claim 56 , wherein the contributors to the creation of the item of media content includes one or more programmers, one or more developers, one or more character designers, one or more graphic designers, or one or more artists. 
     
     
         60 . The system of  claim 56 , wherein the list of participants in the item of media content further includes one or distributors of the item of media content, one or more subdistributors of the item of media content, one or more producer's representatives for the item of media content, one or more sales agents involved in sale of the item of media content, one or more buyers involved in purchase of the item of media content, one or more aggregators involved in aggregation of the item of media content, one or more publishers of the item of media content, one or more networks involved in communication of the item of media content, one or more broadcasters involved in broadcast of the item of media content, or one or more syndicators involved in syndication of the item of media content. 
     
     
         61 . The system of  claim 50 , wherein the information about activity of the users on the platform comprises a media content characteristic and wherein the media content characteristic comprises a grouping or subgrouping of the item of media content based on the history of a plurality of user interactions with the item of media content as measured against a plurality of user interactions with media content different than the item of media content. 
     
     
         62 . The system of  claim 50 , wherein the information about user activity on the platform further comprises a license characteristic. 
     
     
         63 . The system of  claim 62 , wherein the license characteristic comprises a purchase price, an availability of content over a fixed period of time, an availability to download content or a geographic availability. 
     
     
         64 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the activity report request further comprises information related to a license characteristic for media content. 
     
     
         65 . The system of  claim 44 , further comprising:
 receiving a marketing request by the content provider to market the item of media content, provided by the content provider of the item of media content, to a subset of a plurality of users; and   marketing, responsive to the marketing request and using the platform, the item of media content to the subset of users.   
     
     
         66 . The system of  claim 65 , wherein the subset of users are of a particular demographic. 
     
     
         67 . The system of  claim 66 , wherein the particular demographic comprises a shared membership in at least one of age or age range, gender, educational background, financial status, employment background, religion, written or spoken language or languages, race, ethnic identity or background, or sexual orientation or preference. 
     
     
         68 . The system of  claim 67 , wherein the particular demographic further comprises a geographic location. 
     
     
         69 . The system of  claim 68 , wherein the geographic location is a city, a state, a country, or a principality. 
     
     
         70 . The system of  claim 66  wherein the particular demographic comprises a membership in a grouping or subgrouping of the plurality of users based on (i) a history of individual user interaction with the platform as measured against (ii) an aggregate of a plurality of user interactions with the platform. 
     
     
         71 . The system of  claim 44 , further comprising:
 distributing of the item of media content to at least one user; and   receiving at the platform a request from the content provider to further market or distribute the item of media content to a subset of users in a plurality of users.   
     
     
         72 . The system of  claim 71 , wherein the subset of the users comprises users of a particular demographic. 
     
     
         73 . The system of  claim 72 , wherein the particular demographic comprises a shared membership in at least one of age or age range, gender, educational background, financial status, employment background, religion, written or spoken language or languages, race, ethnic identity or background, or sexual orientation or preference. 
     
     
         74 . The system of  claim 72 , wherein the particular demographic further comprises a geographic location. 
     
     
         75 . The system of  claim 72 , wherein the geographic location is a city, a state, a country, or a principality. 
     
     
         76 . The system of  claim 71 , wherein the particular demographic comprises a membership in a grouping or subgrouping of the plurality of users based on (i) a history of the individual user interactions with the platform as measured against (ii) an aggregate of a plurality of user interactions with the platform. 
     
     
         77 . The system of  claim 44 , further comprising providing an updated activity report to the content creator, the updated activity report including information about user activity subsequent to a marketing or a distribution of the item of media content. 
     
     
         78 . The system of  claim 44 , further comprising marketing the item of media content to a subset of users in a plurality of users. 
     
     
         79 . A system of distributing an item of media content associated with a content provider, the system comprising:
 a data processor;   a computer-readable memory encoded with instructions for commanding the data processor to perform steps including:
 providing a platform by which a plurality of content providers can market and distribute media content to users; 
 obtaining, using the platform, information about activity of the users on the platform in relation to the item of media content or in relation to media content related to the item of media content; 
 receiving at the platform a request, by a content provider in the plurality of content providers, for an activity report comprising information related to a license characteristic for media content; and 
 responsive to the activity report request, providing, using the platform, the activity report to the content provider. 
   
     
     
         80 . The system of  claim 79 , wherein the activity report further comprises information related to a user demographic or a media content characteristic.