Discovery of music artist and title by broadcast radio receivers

Abstract

A radio receiver system that determines the artist and title of songs played by a radio station by comparing an acoustic fingerprint of a song with a database of acoustic fingerprints, and retrieving the artist and title of the song if a match is found, said radio receiver system having available an audio analysis system, a fingerprinting system and a database system comprising a database of song fingerprints, said database associating acoustic fingerprints with the artist and title of songs.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of a radio receiver system, including a software application operating in conjunction with the radio receiver system, to determine the artist and title of songs played by a radio station and received by a radio receiver by comparing an acoustic fingerprint, being a digital representation of a song or a portion of a song, with a database of songs having acoustic fingerprints associated with the artist and title of each song, and retrieving the artist and title of the song if a match is found, said radio receiver system having available an audio analysis system, a fingerprinting system and a database system comprising a database of song fingerprints, said database associating acoustic fingerprints with the artist and title of songs, said radio receiver system also having access to the Internet, and wherein the received audio of the radio receiver is directed to the audio analysis system, comprising the steps of:
 a. analyzing the received audio of said radio receiver by said audio analysis system to determine the approximate beginning of a new song;   b. submitting a portion up to the entirety of a new song to said fingerprinting system for the creation of an acoustic fingerprint of the new song once the approximate beginning of said new song has been detected;   c. submitting said acoustic fingerprint of said new song to said database system for comparison with fingerprints in the database;   d. receiving the artist and title of the new song from the database system in the case where an acoustic fingerprint in the database matches the acoustic fingerprint being compared, or returning to step (a) if a match is not found;   e. storing said retrieved artist and title in said radio receiver system, said stored artist and title being available for display to the user; and,   f. returning to step (a) for retrieval of the artist and title of another song.   
     
     
         2 . A method as described in  claim 1  wherein said audio analysis system resides in the radio receiver system, and the fingerprinting system and the fingerprint database system reside on the Internet and are accessible to the radio receiver system, and wherein on the completion of step (a) said audio analysis system provides a portion up to the entirety of the new song to the fingerprinting system for fingerprinting and to the database system for comparing the fingerprint, and thence to continue with step (d). 
     
     
         3 . A method as described in  claim 1  wherein said audio analysis system and the fingerprinting system reside in the radio receiver system, and the fingerprint database system resides on the Internet and is accessible to the radio receiver system, and wherein on the completion of step (b) said fingerprint is submitted to the database system for comparing the fingerprint, and thence to continue with step (d). 
     
     
         4 . A method as described in  claim 1  wherein said audio analysis system and said fingerprinting system are the same system. 
     
     
         5 . A method as described in  claim 1  wherein said fingerprint database is operated by a service provider, and the retrieved artist and title is stored at the service provider on behalf of the user. 
     
     
         6 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium containing processor readable code for programming a processor for use in operating a radio receiver to determine the artist and title of songs played by a radio station and received by a radio receiver by comparing an acoustic fingerprint, being a digital representation of a song or a portion of a song, with a database of songs having acoustic fingerprints associated with the artist and title of each song, and retrieving the artist and title of the song if a match is found, said radio receiver system having available an audio analysis system, a fingerprinting system and a database system comprising a database of song fingerprints, said database associating acoustic fingerprints with the artist and title of songs, said radio receiver system also having access to the Internet, and wherein the received audio of the radio receiver is directed to the audio analysis system, comprising:
 a. a routine for analyzing said audio output by said audio analysis system to determine the approximate beginning of a song;   b. a routine for submitting a portion up to the entirety of a new song to said fingerprinting system for the creation of an acoustic fingerprint of the new song once the approximate beginning of said new song has been detected;   c. a routine for submitting said acoustic fingerprint of said new song to said database system for comparison with fingerprints in the database;   d. a routine for receiving the artist and title of the new song from the database system in the case where an acoustic fingerprint in the database matches the acoustic fingerprint being compared, or returning to step (a) if a match is not found;   e. a routine for storing said received artist and title in said radio receiver system, said stored artist and title being available for display to the user; and,   f. a routine for returning to step (a) for retrieval of the artist and title of another song.   
     
     
         7 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 6  wherein said audio analysis system resides in the radio receiver system, and the fingerprinting system and the fingerprint database system reside on the Internet and are accessible to the radio receiver system, and wherein on the completion of step (a) said audio analysis system provides a portion up to the entirety of the new song to the fingerprinting system and the database system, and thence to continue with step (b). 
     
     
         8 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 6  wherein said audio analysis system and the fingerprinting system reside in the radio receiver system, and the fingerprint database system resides on the Internet and is accessible to the radio receiver system, and wherein on the completion of step (b) said fingerprinting system sends the fingerprint created in step (b) to the database system, and thence to continue with step (c). 
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 6  wherein said audio analysis system and said fingerprinting system are the same system. 
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 6  wherein said fingerprint database is operated by a service provider, and the retrieved artist and title is stored at the service provider on behalf of the user. 
     
     
         11 . A radio receiver system to determine the artist and title of songs played by a radio station and received by a radio receiver by comparing an acoustic fingerprint, being a digital representation of a song or a portion of a song, with a database of songs having acoustic fingerprints associated with the artist and title of each song, and retrieving the artist and title of the song if a match is found, said radio receiver system comprising:
 a. a broadcast radio receiver system having a access to the Internet and configured to provide an audio output, such as would go to speakers, to an audio analysis system;   b. an audio analysis system available to said radio receiver and arranged to analyze the audio output to determine the approximate beginning of a new song, and to provide a portion or all of said new song to a fingerprinting system;   c. a fingerprinting system available to the audio analysis system and being arranged to create a fingerprint of a song from audio provided by the audio analysis system;   d. a database system available to said fingerprinting system and having a database of song fingerprints, said database associating acoustic fingerprints with the artist and title of songs and being arranged to compare a fingerprint provided by the fingerprinting system with fingerprints in the database, and if a match is found to retrieve the associated artist and title, and to provide the retrieved artist and title to said radio receiver system; and,   e. a display system to display said retrieved artist and title.   
     
     
         12 . A system as described in  claim 11  further comprising a transmitter system arranged to accept said retrieved artist and title of a song, and to digitally submit said artist and title for digital transmission on radio waves as the associated song is playing and being transmitted, said digitally transmitted artist and title being available for display on compatible receivers. 
     
     
         13 . A system as described in  claim 11  further comprising a digital audio output connected to the Internet for simulcast reception by media players, wherein said retrieved artist and title is digitally transmitted on the Internet to media players receiving the Internet simulcast of said radio station, said media players thus being enabled to display the artist and title of a song as it is being played. 
     
     
         14 . A system as described in  claim 11  wherein said audio analysis system and said fingerprinting system are the same system. 
     
     
         15 . A system as described in  claim 11  wherein said database of song fingerprints is remote from the radio station, and communication of audio data and artist and title data between the radio station and the song fingerprint database takes place on the Internet. 
     
     
         16 . A system as described in  claim 11  wherein the audio analysis system and the fingerprinting system are remote from the radio station and communication of audio data between the radio station and the audio analysis system and fingerprinting system takes place on the Internet.