Method and system for sharing playlists

Abstract

Methods and systems for publishing a playlist are disclosed. A user generates or selects a playlist, which is then provided (e.g., uploaded) for publishing. A playlist identifying at least one of one or more tracks and one or more albums is received. The playlist may then be published such that the playlist is viewable by one or more individuals. A user may then purchase one or more tracks/albums identified in the playlist via an online store.

Claims

1. A method comprising: receiving, at an online media store, from a first client computing device, a first playlist created and stored by a user at the first client computing device, the first playlist identifying media items selected for the first playlist by the user at the first client computing device, the first playlist being received via a network; receiving, from the first client computing device, a first request to publish the first playlist at the online media store; in response to the first request to publish the first playlist at the online media store: matching the media items identified in the first playlist against content items available at the online media store; determining that at least one of the media items does not match any of the content items available at the online media store; filtering the at least one of the media items from the first playlist to yield a second playlist comprising the first playlist without the at least one of the media items; publishing the second playlist at the online media store for access by users from other client computing devices; and receiving, by the online media store, from a second client computing device, a second request to purchase or download one or more media items identified in the second playlist.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein receiving the first request to publish the first playlist includes receiving permissions associated with the first playlist from the user, wherein the permissions associated with the first playlist identify one or more users or groups that can access the first playlist, and wherein publishing the second playlist comprises: presenting the second playlist to at least one of the one or more users or groups identified by the permissions associated with the first playlist.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request to contact an individual from whom the first playlist was received; and sending an email to the individual, wherein an identity and email address of the individual are not provided in response to the request.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: after publishing the second playlist, identifying a media item from the second playlist that has become unavailable from the online media store since the second playlist was published; removing the media item from the second playlist; and after removing the media item from the second playlist, publishing a third playlist comprising the second playlist without the media item.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: filtering a media item from the first playlist based on a respective characteristic of the media item, the respective characteristic being separate from an availability status of the media item at the online media store; and publishing the second playlist without the media item.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: unpublishing the second playlist by selecting an unpublish option at the online media store, the unpublish option being associated with the second playlist.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein publishing the second playlist comprises: generating a uniform resource locator (URL) based on a location of the second playlist, the URL providing access to the second playlist; providing the URL to one or more computing devices to allow one or more respective individuals to access the second playlist via the URL.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein receiving the first playlist and the first request to publish are both in response to a user selection of an option to publish the first playlist, the option to publish, when selected, causing the first client computing device to transmit both the first playlist and the first request to publish the first playlist to the online media store.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first playlist and the first request to publish the first playlist are both received from a media application operating at the first client computing device during a same application session at the first client computing device.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein publishing the second playlist further comprises, for each media item associated with the second playlist, presenting a respective indication in the second playlist of a number of individuals who have accessed or purchased the media item from the online media store.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein each media item associated with the second playlist includes a purchase price.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: flagging an entry in the second playlist indicating at least one media item associated with the second playlist was purchased by an individual viewing the second playlist from the online media store.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising restricting user access to the second playlist by creating a publishing group defining a selected set of users who may access the second playlist, wherein the publishing group restricts access to the second playlist to those users from the selected set of users defined in the publishing group.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising adding a selected user to the publishing group to enable access to the second playlist by the selected user.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second request is to purchase, from the online store, all media items associated with the second playlist, the method further comprising: processing the second request to purchase all of the media items associated with the second playlist; and providing all of the media items to the second client computing device associated with the second request.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: processing the second request to purchase or download the one or more media items; providing the one or more media items to the second client computing device associated with the second request; and presenting an indication in the second playlist that the one or more media items were purchased.

17. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first playlist and the second request are received together.

18. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second request is to purchase all media items associated with the second playlist, the method further comprising: processing the second request to purchase all of the media items in the second playlist at a group cost that is different than a combined cost of each individual media item in the second playlist; and providing all of the media items to the second client computing device associated with the second request.

19. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second request is to purchase all media items associated with the second playlist, the method further comprising: processing the second request to purchase all of the media items in the second playlist at a group cost that is different than a combined cost of each individual media item in the second playlist; providing all of the media items to the second client computing device associated with the second request; and flagging all of the media items in the second playlist as having been purchased from the online media store.

20. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein publishing the second playlist includes receiving an instruction to publish the second playlist at the online media store, the instruction being received from a client media application at the first client computing device in response to a user selection of a publish playlist option from the client media application at the first client computing device, wherein the user selection of the publish playlist option triggers the first request to publish the first playlist.

21. The method as recited in claim 20, further comprising: unpublishing the second playlist; republishing the second playlist to yield a republished playlist; and generating an address for accessing the republished playlist.

22. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: receiving a modification of the second playlist; and republishing the second playlist with the modification at the online media store.

23. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein the modification comprises a change to a number of items in the second playlist.

24. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein publishing the second playlist includes generating a uniform resource locator (URL) for providing access to the second playlist, and republishing the second playlist with the modification includes providing the second playlist with the modification at the URL.

25. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the URL provides access to the online media store, and wherein contents of the second playlist can be purchased from the online media store through the URL.

26. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising: sending an email to one or more individuals indicating that the second playlist has been modified, wherein the email identifies a URL via which the modified playlist can be accessed by the one or more individuals.

27. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the media items comprise one or more tracks or albums, wherein each of the tracks or albums is identified by at least one of a name, artist, and album.

28. The method as recited in claim 1, the media items comprise one or more tracks or albums, wherein each of the tracks or albums has a personal rating associated therewith.

29. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second playlist has a status indicating that the second playlist is public or private, wherein when the status indicates that the second playlist is public the second playlist is accessible by a plurality of individuals and when the status indicates that the second playlist is private the second playlist is accessible only by an individual responsible for uploading the first playlist, wherein the second playlist has a status of private prior to publishing the second playlist and has a status of public after publishing the second playlist.

30. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: specifying at least one of a description and title of the second playlist.

31. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising: filtering at least one of an address or a phone number from the description.

32. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the media items associated with the first playlist are selected via a media client application at the first client computing device, from a local media library stored at the first client computing device.

33. The method as recited in claim 32, further comprising: offering a discount from a total price of a purchase associated with the second request when the second request is a custom request to purchase a specified percentage of media items in the second playlist.

34. At least one computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: present, via a graphical user interface at a client computing device, a plurality of media items stored on a media library at the client computing device; generate, via the graphical user interface, a first playlist of media items selected from the plurality of media items stored on the media library at the client computing device; present, via the graphical user interface, the first playlist and an option for publishing the first playlist; in response to a user selection of the option for publishing the first playlist, send, to one or more servers, from the graphical user interface, the first playlist and a request to publish the first playlist at the one or more servers; present, via the graphical user interface, a second playlist published at the one or more servers in response to the request, the second playlist comprising the media items in the first playlist and excluding at least one of the media items in the first playlist, the at least one of the media items in the first playlist being filtered from the second playlist based on a determination that the at least one of the media items does not match any content items available at the one or more servers; and present an indication of a purchase price determined by the one or more servers for one or more media items in the second playlist.

35. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein each media item in the second playlist is presented with an indication of a respective purchase price determined by the one or more servers for the media item.

36. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 34, storing additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to flag one or more entries in the second playlist indicating one or more tracks or albums that have been purchased by an individual viewing the second playlist from the one or more servers.

37. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the first playlist has a first status of private prior to the second playlist being published and the second playlist is associated with a second status of public after the second playlist is published.

38. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a media playback application running at the client computing device, wherein the media playback application enables a user to add media items to the first playlist, remove media items from the first playlist, play media items in the first playlist, name the first playlist, and publish the first playlist on the one or more servers.

39. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 34, storing additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: modify the second playlist after publishing the second playlist; and republishing the second playlist.

40. The at least one computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the graphical user interface is associated with a media application at the client computing device, wherein the first playlist is automatically generated by the media application at the client computing device based on one or more criteria comprising at least one of a genre or an artist, the at least one computer readable medium storing additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: after publishing the second playlist, receive a request to grant access to the second playlist to a specific user that currently does not have permissions to access the second playlist; in response to the request, modify permissions associated with the second playlist to add permissions granting the specific user access to the second playlist via the one or more servers; and generate a notification indicating that the specific user has been granted access to the second playlist.

41. A system comprising: at least one processor; and at least one computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: receive, from a first client computing device, a first custom playlist generated by the first client computing device and comprising media items selected at the first client computing device, wherein the first custom playlist is received via a network; receive a request to publish the first custom playlist at the system, the request being received from the first client computing device; in response to the request to publish the first custom playlist at the system: match the media items in the first custom playlist against contents of the system; determine that at least one media item from the media items in the first custom playlist is not available at the system; and filter the at least one media item from the first custom playlist to yield a second custom playlist comprising the media items in the first custom playlist without the at least one media item that is not available at the system; and publish the second playlist such that the second playlist is viewable at the system by one or more client computing devices; and present an indication of a purchase price determined by the system for one or more media items in the second playlist.

42. The system of claim 41, the at least one computer-readable storage medium storing additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: remove an item from the second playlist when the item is no longer available for purchase or download from the system to yield a modified playlist, the item comprising at least one of a track or an album; and publishing the modified playlist.

43. The system of claim 41, the at least one computer-readable storage medium storing additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to flag one or more entries in the second playlist indicating one or more tracks or albums that have been purchased by an individual viewing the second playlist from the system.

44. The system of claim 41, the at least one computer-readable storage medium storing additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to receive a second request to purchase at least one of a track or an album in the second playlist from the system.

45. An online media store comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory having stored therein instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: receive, from a first client computing device, a first playlist created and stored by a user at the first client computing device, the first playlist identifying media items selected for the first playlist by the user at the first client computing device, the first playlist being received via a network; receive, from the first client computing device, a first request to publish the first playlist at the online media store; in response to the first request to publish the first playlist at the online media store: filter the first playlist by removing one or more of the media items from the first playlist that are not available for download or purchase from the online media store, to yield a second playlist comprising the first playlist without the one or more of the media items from the first playlist that are not available for download or purchase from the online media store; and publish the second playlist at the online store to provide access to the second playlist by one or more users from other client computing devices via the online media store, the one or more users being identified in a permissions group which grants the one or more users in the permissions group access to the second playlist published at the online media store; receive, from at least one second client computing device from the other client computing devices, a second request to purchase or download at least one media item from the second playlist; and present on the second playlist published a visual indication that the at least one media item has been purchased or downloaded from the online media store.

46. An online media store as recited in claim 45, wherein the filtering comprises: matching contents of the first playlist against contents at the online media store; determining that the one or more of the media items from the first playlist are not available at the online media store, to yield a determination that the one or more of the media items are not available; and based on the determination that the one or more of the media items are not available, filtering the one or more of the media items from the first playlist to yield the second playlist.

47. The online media store as recited in claim 45, the computer-readable storage medium having stored therein additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: receive, by the online media store, a third request to purchase all media items in the second playlist.

48. The online media store as recited in claim 47, the computer-readable storage medium having stored therein additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: determine one or more media items associated with the third request are not in a same album, to yield a purchase determination; and based on the purchase determination and the third request, process a respective purchase of each media item from the media items in the second playlist individually.

49. The online media store as recited in claim 47, the computer-readable storage medium having stored therein additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: determine that all of the media items associated with the third request are in a same album, to yield a purchase determination; and based on the purchase determination and the third request, offer a purchase of the same album.

50. The online media store as recited in claim 47, the computer-readable storage medium having stored therein additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: determine whether a majority of the media items associated with the third request are in a same album.

51. The online media store as recited in claim 50, wherein when it is determined that the majority of the media items are in the same album, offering a purchase of the same album.

52. The online media store as recited in claim 51, wherein the purchase of the same album is offered at an album price that is different than a combined cost of all individual items in the same album.

53. The online media store as recited in claim 52, wherein the purchase of the same album is offered at the album price when a total price of all individual items in the same album is greater than the album price.

54. The online media store as recited in claim 47, the computer-readable storage medium having stored therein additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: offer a discount from a total price of the purchase when the purchase is for all of the media items in the second playlist.

55. The online media store of claim 45, the at least one computer-readable storage medium storing additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to receive a third request to purchase at least one of a track or an album in the second playlist from the online media store.

56. The online media store of claim 45, the at least one computer-readable storage medium storing additional instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to send an email to one or more users indicating that the second playlist has been modified to yield a modified playlist, wherein the email identifies a URL via which the modified playlist can be accessed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a media purchase system according to one embodiment of the invention.

(3) FIG. 2 is an exemplary graphical user interface for publishing a playlist and viewing a published playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

(4) FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of publishing a playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

(5) FIG. 4 is an exemplary graphical user interface that may be used to publish a playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

(6) FIG. 5 is an exemplary graphical user interface that may be presented to a user that has requested publication of a playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

(7) FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of purchasing tracks or albums presented in a published playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

(8) FIG. 7 is an exemplary graphical user interface that may be presented to enable a user to purchase albums or songs that are listed in a published playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(9) Embodiments of various aspects of the invention are discussed below with reference to FIGS. 1-7. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments.

(10) One aspect of the invention pertains to a system and method for sharing a playlist. In the following description, a list that lists one or more tracks (e.g., songs) and/or one or more albums (i.e., a purchasable unit such as a tape or CD) will be referred to as a playlist. By publishing a playlist, the playlist may be accessible by one or more individuals. For instance, a hypertext link including a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to the playlist may be transmitted to one or more individuals. The individuals may then access the playlist by clicking on the link provided in the email. As another example, the playlist may simply be accessible via a web site (e.g., central server). The playlist may be accessible by the public, or merely those who have a particular password or email address.

(11) Another aspect of the invention pertains to a system and method for purchasing items such as tracks or albums that are listed in a playlist (e.g., published playlist) over a network. Specifically, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in association with a web site supporting a user account such as a publisher or purchaser account, thereby enabling the purchaser to purchase track(s) and/or album(s) via the web site that are listed in the publisher's (or purchaser's) playlist.

(12) Another aspect of the invention enables a potential purchaser to sample and purchase items in a playlist (e.g., if it has been uploaded by the purchaser) or a published playlist. Specifically, the potential purchaser can browse through published playlists identifying media items that are available for purchase. The potential purchaser can thereafter purchase one or more media items on-line with great ease. Upon purchasing a media item, the content for the media item can be downloaded over the network to the purchaser. The content for the media item is then encrypted for the purchaser's use and stored on the purchaser's machine. Thereafter, the purchaser can make use of the media item (e.g., play the media item).

(13) Still another aspect of the invention pertains to a graphical user interface suitable for assisting users in uploading a playlist, publishing a playlist, and purchasing items from a playlist, as well as those that notify a recipient that a playlist has been published.

(14) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a media purchase system 100 according to one embodiment of the invention. The media purchase system 100 includes a media commerce server 102. The media commerce server 102 coordinates review and/or purchase of media items through on-line transactions. On-line transactions to purchase media items is also referred to as electronic commerce (e-commerce). The media purchase system 100 also includes a client 104. Typically, the media purchase system 100 would include a plurality of different clients 104. Each client 104 includes a media player 108. The media player 108 is an application program (e.g., software application) that operates on the client 104, which is a computing device. The client 104 is coupled to the media commerce server 102 through a data network 106. Hence, any of the clients 104 can interact with the media commerce server 102 to review and/or purchase media items. In one embodiment, the data network 106 includes at least a portion of the Internet. The clients 104 can vary with application but generally are computing devices that have memory storage. Often, the clients 104 are personal computers or other computing devices that are capable of storing and presenting media to their users.

(15) The media purchase system 100 also includes a media store 112. The media store 112 provides mass storage of the numerous media items that are available for purchase via the media purchase system 100. In addition, the media store 112 may provide storage for one or more playlists that have been uploaded and/or published. Once purchased (e.g., via selection from a playlist), the media items can be accessed from the media store 112 over the data network 106 by way of the media commerce server 110.

(16) More particularly, the media purchase system 100 allows a user of the client 104 to utilize the media player 108 to browse, search or sort through a plurality of playlists identifying one or more media items (e.g., tracks/songs or albums) that can be purchased from the media commerce server 102. The media player 108 may also allow the user to preview a media clip (i.e., sample) of the media items (e.g., songs). In the event that the user of the media player 108 desires to purchase a particular media item, the user (via the media player 108) and the media commerce server 102 engage in an on-line commerce transaction in which the user pays for access rights to the particular media item. In one embodiment, a credit card associated with the user is credited for the purchase amount of the particular media item.

(17) In the media purchase system 100, the media items are stored in the media store 112 and retrieved via the media commerce server 102. However, a separate media storage server could additionally be provided and coupled between the data network 106 and the media store 110. The benefit of such a media storage server would be that the media commerce server 102 need not burden its resources to deliver any of the media items that may be purchased to the client 104. Instead, on purchasing a particular media item, the media commerce server 102 sends download information to the media player 108 on the client 104. The download information can then be used by the media player 108 (and the client 104) to retrieve the media content for the particular media item by interacting with the media storage server through the data network 106. In this regard, the media storage server obtains the media content corresponding to the particular media item from the media store 112 and downloads such content through the data network 106 to the client 104. The downloaded media content can then be stored on the client 104. In one embodiment, the downloaded media content is encrypted as received at the client 104 but is decrypted and then re-encrypted before persistent storage on the client 104. Thereafter, the media player 108 can present (e.g., play) the media content at the client 104. In addition, media search processing/browsing may be performed by an application program operating on a client. The application program is, for example, the media player 108 illustrated in FIG. 1.

(18) Here, in one example, the media commerce server 102 illustrated in FIG. 1 can also serve as the media storage server. However, it is important to note that these functions may be implemented in separate servers. The search request may be a request to the remote media server to perform a search in accordance with the search criteria for a particular song or album. For instance, the search may request access to published playlists including a particular song or album. The user may then choose to purchase some or all songs or albums in a particular playlist. Here, the media commerce server 102 includes at least information (e.g., metadata) for a large number of media items that are available to be purchased from the media commerce server 102, though the content of the media items that are purchased may be acquired at the client via download with respect to another remote server, such as the media storage server.

(19) The connections through the data network 106 between the media commerce server 102, the client 104 and the media storage server can be through secure connections, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Further, the media content may be re-encrypted prior to storage at the client 104 such that downloaded media content is not stored in the clear, but is instead stored in an encrypted manner.

(20) FIG. 2 is an exemplary graphical user interface for publishing a playlist and viewing a published playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2, various playlists may be generated. As shown, the Source may be a playlist that has been placed in the user's Library, such as the Party Shuffle playlist. Other playlists may also be generated, such as the 90's Music and My Top Rated playlists. Thus, a user may select a preexisting playlist. A playlist may be manually or automatically generated. Automatic generation may include generation based upon one or more criteria (e.g., genre, artist).

(21) In order to publish a playlist identifying one or more tracks and/or albums, the playlist is first obtained. Specifically, the playlist is uploaded for publishing. In this example, the playlist Party Shuffle has been uploaded for publishing. As can be seen from this example, a playlist includes one or more tracks (e.g., songs) and/or albums. For each entry in the playlist (e.g., song), the name is identified. For each song, the artist is also identified. In addition, an album name, genre, play time and personal rating (not shown) may also be identified in a playlist entry for a track such as a song. For instance, the genre may be pop, rock, or R&B. Although songs are identified in the exemplary playlist, other entries may also be identified. For instance, an entry may merely identify a track or, alternatively, an album.

(22) When the playlist is received, the playlist may then be published for access by one or more additional users. The contents of the playlist may be published in the order in which the contents are listed in the uploaded playlist. Publishing may merely involve publishing all text contents of a playlist, such as those set forth above. However, the playlist may also be filtered prior to publishing, as will be described in further detail below with reference to FIG. 3.

(23) FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of publishing a playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As shown at block 302, a playlist is received. For instance, the playlist may be uploaded by a user intending to publish the playlist. In this manner, the playlist may be sent to an online store. As described above, the playlist identifies at least one of one or more tracks (e.g., songs) and one or more albums. The contents of the playlist (e.g., textual contents) are then matched against the contents of an online store via which the tracks and/or albums can be purchased at block 304. The matching may be performed in the order in which the contents are listed in the playlist. Tracks and albums that cannot be purchased from the online store are then filtered from the playlist at block 306. The filtered playlist may then be published at block 308 such that the playlist is viewable by one or more individuals. As set forth above, the contents of the playlist may be published in the order in which the contents are listed in the uploaded playlist. Similarly, when songs or albums are no longer stocked by the store, these songs and albums can be removed from the published playlist. Thus, at block 310, the tracks/albums that are no longer available for purchase from the online store may be removed from the playlist. The playlist may then be republished at block 320.

(24) By filtering albums or songs from published playlists that cannot be purchased from the online store, only those items that can be purchased from the online store are present in the published playlists. A user may then click on any album or song playlist entry to purchase that album or song from the online store.

(25) Other types of tracks and albums may also be filtered from a playlist prior to publishing the playlist. For instance, pornographic or obscene names associated with tracks or albums may be filtered from the playlist. In addition, the number of items in a playlist that is published may be limited and therefore the playlist may be filtered accordingly, such as through removal of the last entries in the playlist.

(26) A user may submit a request to publish any playlist such that the playlist is viewable by one or more individuals. FIG. 4 is an exemplary graphical user interface that may be used to publish a playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the user may select a publish playlist option by clicking on the To Publish link to submit a request to publish a particular playlist. In accordance with one embodiment, publication of playlists is account-based. Thus, the publish playlist option may be available for selection from an account page for an individual selecting the publish playlist option. Once a playlist is published, an indicator may be used to indicate that the playlist has been published. In this manner, a user may ascertain whether he or she has published a particular playlist. In addition, the published playlist may be relocated to a group of published playlists such as a group of published playlists that have been published by that user. Publication of a playlist may also be indicated by a status associated with the playlist. Specifically, the status may indicate whether the playlist is public or private. A public status may indicate that the playlist is accessible by a plurality of individuals (e.g., one or more specified individuals or the public), while a private status may indicate that the playlist is accessible only by the individual responsible for uploading the playlist. Thus, a playlist would have a status of private prior to publishing the playlist and a status of public after publishing the playlist.

(27) Publication may be achieved in a variety of manners. For instance, publication may result in a playlist that is viewable by the public, or merely one or more individuals specified by the publisher. Thus, the publisher may notify one or more individuals of the publication, which may be achieved via a pop-up window, email or other suitable mechanism. For instance, the publisher may provide a URL, which may be provided to one or more individuals via an email indicating that the playlist can be accessed via the URL. Thus, a published playlist may be accessed via a link to a web site (e.g., iTunes Music Store). In other words, the publishing user may specify the individual(s) by whom the playlist may be viewed after the playlist is published. Of course, it is possible for the user to modify the group of individuals after the playlist has been published (e.g., by adding users to the publication group). This may be accomplished, for example, by entering the email address of the specified users into the system for automatic notification. Alternatively, each individual may be emailed directly to notify the individual of the playlist publication, and to provide the URL to the individual. Each of the specified individuals may thereafter access and view the playlist by clicking on the link provided in the email. Alternatively, a published playlist may be made available via a web site and accessed via a password which may be transmitted or provided to the intended recipients. In this manner, one or more playlists may be provided via a central server.

(28) In addition to accessing a published playlist via a URL, the URL may also provide access to an online store from which contents of the published playlist may be purchased. Various methods of purchasing items listed in a published playlist will be described in further detail below.

(29) Assuming playlists have been published and accessible by the public, a user may submit a search request to search the playlists. As one example, the request may be a request to display one or more playlists including a particular search term, track (e.g., song), or album. The request may be a request to display the most viewed playlists such as those including one or more specified tracks and/or albums. Similarly, the request may be a request to display the most purchased playlists such as those including one or more specified tracks and/or album. The playlists identified in the search results are then provided in response to the request. In some embodiments, permission to view the published playlists may be verified (e.g., via email address or password). As another example, a user may submit a request for those tracks and/or albums purchased by individuals who purchased a particular track or album. Thus, the identification of one or more tracks/albums purchased by the individual publishing a particular playlist may be accessed. In this manner, a user may search for and purchase similar or closely related types of music.

(30) FIG. 5 is an exemplary graphical user interface that may be presented to a user that has requested publication of a playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Once a user has requested publication of a particular playlist, the user may provide a description and/or title of the playlist. Alternatively, a default description and/or title may be used, such as the previously established description and/or title. In addition, confirmation is obtained prior to uploading or publishing the playlist. In this example, a Cancel Button is provided to enable the user to confirm his or her intention to publish the playlist. If the user wishes to cancel the request to publish, the user may click on the Cancel Button. Alternatively, the user may confirm his or her intention to publish by selecting a publish playlist option from the online store by clicking on the Publish button.

(31) Upon publication, a title or description may be filtered to remove any unwanted language. For instance, any offensive or obscene language may be removed. In addition, personal information such as addresses and phone numbers may be removed.

(32) As shown in FIG. 5, a purchase price may be provided in association with each playlist item. Specifically, a purchase price associated with the online store may be retrieved and published with the playlist item. In addition, or alternatively to a per-item purchase price, it is also possible to purchase items as a group. For instance, if it is cheaper to purchase an album including multiple tracks presented in a published playlist than it is to purchase the tracks separately, a purchase price associated with the album may be provided or obtained for the purchase transaction. Thus, the purchase of the album may be offered at the album price rather than the sum of the price of the requested tracks.

(33) An individual accessing a published playlist may purchase one or more tracks or albums identified in the published playlist from the online store. FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of purchasing tracks or albums presented in a published playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As shown at block 602, a request to purchase some or all of the tracks/albums identified in the playlist is received. It is then determined whether a set of the items in the playlist are in an album. Specifically, it is determined whether the tracks or a number of tracks (e.g., a majority of the tracks) identified in the playlist are in the same album at block 604. If the tracks or a number of tracks identified in the playlist are not in an album, the request to purchase the items is processed such that each of the items is purchased individually at block 606. Otherwise, an offer to purchase the album is provided at block 610 (or alternatively, the purchase of the album is processed). If the total price of the items (e.g., tracks) is determined not to be greater than the album price at block 612, the request to purchase the items is processed at the sum of the price of the individual items at block 614. However, if the total price of the items is greater than the album price, an offer to purchase the album (or the set of items) is provided at the album price at block 616 (or the purchase request is immediately processed at the album price).

(34) Similarly, if a purchase request indicates a request to purchase all of the tracks/albums identified in a playlist, a discount off of the purchase price may be offered to the purchaser. This discount may be a dollar amount or a percentage amount. This promotional discount may be offered each time a user requests a purchase of an entire playlist, or a percentage (e.g., 90 percent) of a playlist.

(35) FIG. 7 is an exemplary graphical user interface that may be presented to enable a user to purchase albums or songs that are listed in a published playlist in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In this example, a purchase price is listed for each playlist item. The user may click on the Buy Song icon to purchase the corresponding song. Similarly, the user may simply choose to listen to a sample for that song (if present). The sample may then be copied to a selected library (e.g., associated with the individual). Alternatively, the user may wish to listen to the user's copy of the song. Thus, a comparison of the text in the playlist entry may be compared to songs stored in the user's library present on the web site or on the user's local memory. Once a match has been found, the user's copy of the song may be played.

(36) In order to keep track of those tracks/albums that have already been purchased, the tracks/albums in the playlist may be flagged to indicate that they have been purchased by the individual viewing the published playlist from the online store. The individual (purchaser) may be the individual who uploaded and published the playlist or, alternatively, the purchaser may be an individual accessing the published playlist (e.g., via the URL). The flagged items may be visible from the user (purchaser) account. Moreover, the tracks/albums that have been purchased may be flagged (e.g., in response to a request for flagging the purchased items). Other information may similarly be displayed for a published playlist, such as the number of people who purchased all items (e.g., albums/tracks) in a particular playlist, or the number of people who accessed a particular playlist.

(37) Once a playlist has been published, a publishing user may wish to unpublish the published playlist. This may be accomplished, for example, by selecting an unpublish playlist option from the online store. The playlist may then be deleted from the online store, or unpublished in a similar manner via an indicator or other suitable mechanism. For instance, publishing may be performed in accordance with a publication status associated with each of the playlists, where the publication status when in a first state indicates that the corresponding playlist is to be published and when in a second state indicates that the corresponding playlist is not to be published.

(38) An individual who has uploaded and published a particular playlist may wish to modify the published playlist. For instance, the individual may wish to add and/or remove one or more tracks/albums from the playlist. In these situations, the individual may wish to republish the playlist such that the modified playlist is uploaded and viewable by one or more individuals. Republishing may be initiated via selection of a republish playlist option. The republish playlist option, like the publish playlist option, may be selected from an online store from which contents of the published playlist can be purchased. For instance, the republish (and publish) option may be available for selection from an account page for the individual. Similarly, the republication may be achieved via the same notification mechanisms used to accomplish publication. For instance, the modified playlist may be provided via a URL such as the URL via which the playlist was initially published. Thus, the URL may provide access to an online store from which contents of the published playlist can be purchased. Moreover, an email may be sent to one or more individuals indicating that the playlist has been modified. The email may further identify a URL via which the modified playlist can be accessed. In addition, the email may include a message including additional text provided by an individual publishing the playlist. The email may be sent directly by the publisher, or indirectly by specifying or selecting one or more email addresses associated with the intended recipients of the publication/republication notice.

(39) Publication may be implemented by transmitting an identifier associated with a playlist to the server/online store with the playlist. The identifier may also be transmitted with the playlist upon republication. The identifier may, for example, be an email address or password.

(40) It is also possible to contact the publisher of a playlist by submitting a request to contact the publisher (i.e., individual who uploaded and published the playlist). For instance, an email may be sent to the individual, wherein the identity and email address of the individual are kept confidential. In other words, the email may be a blind email sent via the web site. In addition, emails sent by the individual in response may be received upon stripping any email address or other identifying information from the emails.

(41) The various aspects, features, embodiments or implementations of the invention described above can be used alone or in various combinations. In addition, the media items can pertain to audio items (e.g., audio files or songs, such as for music), video items (e.g., video files or movies), or image items (e.g., photos).

(42) The invention is preferably implemented by software, but can also be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software. The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data which can thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include read-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, DVDs, magnetic tape, optical data storage devices, and carrier waves. The computer readable medium can also be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

(43) The advantages of the invention are numerous. Different embodiments or implementations may, but need not, yield one or more of the disclosed advantages. As set forth above, one advantage of the invention is that a user may publish a playlist. Another advantage of the invention is that items listed in a published playlist may be purchased, as well as used to initiate a further search in other published playlists.

(44) The many features and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the written description and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, the invention should not be limited to the exact construction and operation as illustrated and described. Hence, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to as falling within the scope of the invention.