Distributed Computer System Architecture for Networked Playback Systems to Facilitate Producing Music Service Media Applications and to Utilize Music Services

Abstract

A distributed architecture is disclosed for networked playback systems to facilitate producing music services' media applications and to utilize music services. In example embodiments, a controller is configured to authenticate a playback system with multiple music services and then access each music service to perform a respective search when it receives a search request. The controller then outputs indications of applicable music content provided by any of the music services. The controller receives a selection of an indication and then causes one or more playback devices of the playback system to playback the music content from the appropriate music service. In other embodiments, a computing system provides API services through which music services can iteratively evaluate media applications using playback systems. The playback systems provide evaluation data to the computing system that are indicative of respective operations of the playback systems while provisioned with a particular media application version.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A controller device of an audio playback system, the controller device comprising:
 a network interface configured to communicatively couple the controller device to (i) at least one playback device of the audio playback system and (ii) a plurality of music service computing systems located remote to the controller device, wherein each music service computing system corresponds to a given music service;   an input interface;   at least one processor;   a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the controller device to:
 authenticate the audio playback system with a first music service computing system; 
 authenticate the audio playback system with second music service computing system; 
 receive, via the input interface, a first input indicative of a search request related to music content; 
 based on the first input:
 access, via the network interface, the first music service computing system to perform a first search in accordance with the search request; and 
 access, via the network interface, the second music service computing system to perform a second search in accordance with the search request; 
 
 based on the first and second searches, output a plurality of indications of music content, wherein each given indication of music content corresponds to music content provided by either the first music service computing system or the second music service computing system; 
 receive, via the input interface, a second input indicative of a selected indication of music content of the plurality of indications of music content, wherein the selected indication of music content corresponds to a selected music content provided by the first music service computing system; and 
 based on the second input, cause the at least one playback device to playback the selected music content from the first music service computing system via a music identifier corresponding to the selected music content. 
   
     
     
         2 . The controller device of  claim 1 , wherein authenticating the audio playback system with the first music service computing system comprises: obtaining, via the network interface, from the first music service computing system a first access credential in response to a first session identifier request comprising account information related to the first music service computing system; and
 wherein authenticating the audio playback system with the second music service computing system comprises: obtaining, via the network interface, from the second music service computing system a second access credential in response to a second session identifier request comprising account information related to the second music service computing system.   
     
     
         3 . The controller device of  claim 2 , wherein the first access credential is a first token and the second access credential is a second token, and wherein (i) accessing the first music service computing system to perform the first search in accordance with the search request comprises: transmitting a first search request that comprises the first token, and (ii) accessing the second music service computing system to perform the second search in accordance with the search request comprises: transmitting a second search request that comprises the second token. 
     
     
         4 . The controller device of  claim 2 , wherein the first access credential is a first time-dependent token and the second access credential is a second time-dependent token. 
     
     
         5 . The controller device of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the controller device to:
 in response to authenticating the audio playback system with the first music service computing system, add the music service corresponding to the first music service computing system to the audio playback system, wherein adding the music service corresponding to the first music service computing system to the audio playback system comprises causing the audio playback system to store a first access credential for the first music service computing system.   
     
     
         6 . The controller device of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the controller device to:
 in response to authenticating the audio playback system with the second music service computing system, add the music service corresponding to the second music service computing system to the audio playback system, wherein adding the music service corresponding to the second music service computing system to the audio playback system comprises causing the audio playback system to store a second access credential for the second music service computing system.   
     
     
         7 . The controller device of  claim 1 , wherein causing the at least one playback device to playback the selected music content from the first music service computing system via the music identifier corresponding to the selected music content comprises:
 transmitting to the at least one playback device, via the network interface, a playback request comprising the music identifier.   
     
     
         8 . The controller device of  claim 1 , wherein causing the at least one playback device to playback the selected music content from the first music service computing system via the music identifier corresponding to the selected music content comprises:
 causing, via the network interface, the at least one playback device to obtain from the first music service computing system the music identifier corresponding to the selected music content.   
     
     
         9 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 authenticating, via a communication network, an audio playback system with a first music service computing system;   authenticating, via the communication network, the audio playback system with a second music service computing system;   receiving a first input indicative of a search request related to music content;   based on the first input:
 accessing the first music service computing system to perform a first search in accordance with the search request; and 
 accessing the second music service computing system to perform a second search in accordance with the search request; 
   based on the first and second searches, outputting a plurality of indications of music content, wherein each given indication of music content corresponds to music content provided by either the first music service computing system or the second music service computing system;   receiving a second input indicative of a selected indication of music content of the plurality of indications of music content, wherein the selected indication of music content corresponds to a selected music content provided by the first music service computing system; and   based on the second input, causing, via a communication network, at least one playback device of the audio playback system to playback the selected music content from the first music service computing system via a music identifier corresponding to the selected music content.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , wherein authenticating the audio playback system with the first music service computing system comprises: obtaining, via the communication network, from the first music service computing system a first access credential in response to a first session identifier request comprising account information related to the first music service computing system; and
 wherein authenticating the audio playback system with the second music service computing system comprises: obtaining, via the communication network, from the second music service computing system a second access credential in response to a second session identifier request comprising account information related to the second music service computing system.   
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , wherein the first access credential is a first token and the second access credential is a second token, and wherein (i) accessing the first music service computing system to perform the first search in accordance with the search request comprises: transmitting, via the communication network, a first search request that comprises the first token, and (ii) accessing the second music service computing system to perform the second search in accordance with the search request comprises: transmitting, via the communication network, a second search request that comprises the second token. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , wherein the first access credential is a first time-dependent token and the second access credential is a second time-dependent token. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 in response to authenticating the audio playback system with the first music service computing system, adding a music service corresponding to the first music service computing system to the audio playback system, wherein adding the music service corresponding to the first music service computing system to the audio playback system comprises causing the audio playback system to store a first access credential for the first music service computing system.   
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 in response to authenticating the audio playback system with the second music service computing system, add a music service corresponding to the second music service computing system to the audio playback system, wherein adding the music service corresponding to the second music service computing system to the audio playback system comprises causing the audio playback system to store a second access credential for the second music service computing system.   
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , wherein causing the at least one playback device to playback the selected music content from the first music service computing system via the music identifier corresponding to the selected music content comprises:
 transmitting to the at least one playback device, via the communication network, a playback request comprising the music identifier.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , wherein causing the at least one playback device to playback the selected music content from the first music service computing system via the music identifier corresponding to the selected music content comprises:
 causing, via the communication network, the at least one playback device to obtain from the first music service computing system the music identifier corresponding to the selected music content.   
     
     
         17 . A computing system comprising:
 a network interface configured to communicatively couple the computing system to (i) a plurality of audio playback systems, wherein each networked audio playback system is located remote to the computing system and comprises at least one playback device and at least one controller device, and (ii) a plurality of music service computing systems, wherein each music service computing system is located remote to the computing system and the plurality of networked media playback systems and is configured to provide a music-related service for networked devices;   at least one processor;   a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing system to:
 for each given music service computing system of the plurality of music service computing systems:
 cause, via the network interface, a first audio playback system to be provisioned with a first version of an audio application corresponding to the given music service computing system, wherein causing the first networked audio playback system to be provisioned with the first version of the audio application comprises enabling the first networked audio playback system with a first access credential that limits access to the first version of the audio application to the first audio playback system; 
 receive from the first audio playback system, via the network interface, first evaluation data indicative of operation of the at least one playback device and the at least one controller device of the first audio playback system while provisioned with the first version of the audio application; 
 based at least on the received first evaluation data, cause, via the network interface, at least a second and a third audio playback system to be provisioned with a second version of the audio application corresponding to the given music service computing system, wherein causing the at least second and third audio playback systems to be provisioned with the second version of the audio application comprises enabling the at least second and third audio playback systems with a second access credential that limits access to the second version of the audio application to the at least second and third audio playback systems; 
 receive, via the network interface, (i) from the second audio playback system second evaluation data indicative of operation of the at least one playback device and the at least one controller device of the second audio playback system while provisioned with the second version of the audio application and (ii) from the third audio playback system third evaluation data indicative of operation of the at least one playback device and the at least one controller device of the third audio playback system while provisioned with the second version of the audio application; and 
 based at least on the second and third evaluation data, publish to any of the plurality of audio playback systems, via the network interface, a third version of the audio application corresponding to the given music service computing system. 
 
   
     
     
         18 . The computing system of  claim 17 , wherein the computing system is configured according to the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), wherein at least one of the plurality of music service computing systems is configured according to a protocol other than the SOAP, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the computing system to:
 translate a command from the at least one of the plurality of music service computing systems directed to at least one of the first, second, or third audio playback systems into the SOAP format; and   provide, via the network interface, the translated command to the at least one of the first, second, or third audio playback systems.   
     
     
         19 . The computing system of  claim 17 , wherein the first evaluation data comprises at least one of first usage data or first performance data, wherein the second evaluation data at least one of second usage data or second performance data, wherein the third evaluation data at least one of third usage data or third performance data, and wherein the first, second, and third usage data comprises one or more of (i) data indicative of a number of provisioned audio playback systems or (ii) data indicative of an amount of use, and wherein the first, second, and third performance data comprises one or more of (i) data indicative of a number of errors or (ii) data indicative of results of a load test. 
     
     
         20 . The computing system of  claim 17 , wherein enabling the first audio playback system with the first access credential that limits access to the first version of the audio application to the first audio playback system comprises:
 receiving, via the network interface, from the first audio playback system account information for the given music service computing system;   translating the account information into the first access credential; and   transmitting, via the network interface, the first access credential to the first audio playback system, thereby providing the first audio playback system access to the first version of the audio application.