Audio ownership system

Description of equivalent WO 02071678 A2

AUDIO OWNERSHIP SYSTEM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

0003The present invention relates to a system for providing music to

0004users.

0005The traditional technique for selecting music involves listening to the

0006radio and remembering which artists are most appealing to the listener. The

0007listener then may go to the store to purchase a compact disc, tape, or album

0008containing that music. Unfortunately, the compact disk frequently contains

0009numerous songs that the listener does not like. Accordingly, often the listener

0010obtains a compact disk with one, and possibly two, songs which are enjoyable.

0011Further, an artist releases a new compact disc which the listener becomes aware

0012of. Without listening to the songs the listener purchases the compact disc with the

0013expectation that the music will be enjoyable. Unfortunately, the compact disk will

0014periodically be completely devoid of any enjoyable songs. After obtaining a

0015compact disc that is no longer wanted, the user typically sells the compact disk on

0016the secondary market at a substantial discount.

0017Internet based music retailers, such as www.amazon.com sell

0018compact disks to potential customers. To increase sales and to partially alleviate

0019the unknown quality of the songs for their customers, Internet based music

0020retailers may provide samples of selected songs. This permits the potential customer to make a more informed decision regarding whether to purchase a

0021particular compact disk by listening to the songs prior to purchasing the compact

0022disk. While this is an improvement, the samples of the songs may be misleading

0023as to the nature of the complete song and many songs on the compact disk do not

0024include a sample. In addition, many compact discs do not include any samples at

0025all. Moreover, the customer may have to wait several days for the compact disk to

0026arrive. Further, after purchasing a compact disc that the listener does not like, the

0027purchaser either relegates the compact disk to the drawer or otherwise sells the

0028disk on the secondary market at a substantial discount. Accordingly, the customer

0029may be unsatisfied with his purchase.

0030Other online retailers provide individual compressed digital audio

0031music files for downloading and purchase by customers. While permitting the

0032downloading of desirable songs without purchasing the entire album, the customer

0033is unable to return the digital audio file for return of the purchase price nor is able

0034to lawfully transfer the digital audio file to others.

0035Other Internet based services provide peer-to-peer music sharing

0036service. One such service is www.napster.com (as it existed January 1 , 2001 ).

0037Users of the music service sample the music on their compact disks thereby

0038creating compressed music files, such as a motion picture experts group audio

0039layer 3 files, typically referred to as P3 files. The audio compression from an

0040"uncompressed" compact disk is typically performed by an audio "ripping"

0041program. After compression, the files are typically stored on the user's hard drive. Upon signing into the music sharing service, the compressed audio files on each

0042user's hard drive are made available to all of the other users. In this manner,

0043different users may listen to different music by downloading and listening to the

0044songs available from other users. This provides a convenient technique for

0045sampling different music that the listener may not have otherwise listened to.

0046Unfortunately, the music that is being downloaded may be compressed at different

0047sampling rates, which results in the audio having different qualities, in addition,

0048re-compressing the compressed audio at another sampling rate does not result in

0049as high of recording quality as if the song was originally sampled at the desired

0050sampling rate. Because the system is a peer-to-peer file transfer system, with the

0051server merely providing the network address of the audio files, the actual quality of

0052the compressed audio is unknown. In addition, frequently the compressed audio

0053files do not include the entire song. Further, the download speeds of the

0054compressed audio are limited by the data transfer rate of the network connection

0055of the other user, which is not within the control of the user downloading the

0056compressed audio. Accordingly, it may take substantial time to download the

0057desired audio files. The user may likewise be unable to locate a desired song

0058because it is currently unavailable from other users. Moreover, peer-to-peer audio

0059file servers may require suitable licenses to comply with the current United States

0060Copyright Laws.

0061What is desired, therefore, is a convenient system for permitting

0062users to listen to selected audio files. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

0063FIG. 1 is a network based audio file system.

0064FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an audio file system.

0065FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an audio file system.

0066FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an audio file system.

0067FIG. 5 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an audio file system.

0068FIG. 6 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an audio file system.

0069FIG. 7 is a block diagram of monitoring software for use with the audio file

0070system.

0071FIG. 8 is a block diagram of exchange limitations for use with the audio file

0072system.

0073FIG. 9A is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an audio file system.

0074FIG. 9B is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an audio file system.

0075FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an audio file system.

0076FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an audio file system.

0077FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an audio file system.

0078FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an audio file system.

0079FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of an audio file system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

0081After considering the limitations of selecting music and the inherent

0082file quality and quality of service limitations, the present inventors came to the realization that a different paradigm should be developed. The current paradigm

0083of providing songs based on peer-to-peer connections of user's downloading and

0084storing the audio files on their hard drives should be modified to a paradigm based

0085upon providing server based content, where the quality of the audio files and the

0086service are more closely controlled. The current paradigm should likewise be

0087modified to a paradigm based upon ownership of the music so that all the artists

0088are properly compensated for their work. However providing audio files with

0089ownership rights of selected songs, or otherwise one or more compact disks,

0090would typically require sending the compact disk to the user and electronically

0091transferring the selected audio files. After listening to the compact disk the user

0092may then resell the compact disk at a discount. In addition, providing the compact

0093disk to the user typically uses the postal service which is prohibitively expensive,

0094and returning the compact disk to an Internet based buyer likewise typically uses

0095the postal service which is prohibitively expensive. In a similar way, it is time

0096consuming to travel to a music store to purchase a compact disc and thereafter

0097travel back to a used music store to sell the compact disc for typically less than

0098one-half of what the customer paid for it.

0099Referring to FIG. 1 , a server 20 stores compressed audio files 22

0100and is interconnected to the Internet 24. It is to be understood that the Internet

0101may be any type of computer network which permits communication between

0102multiple computing devices, such as computers. The audio files 22 are preferably

0103obtained from a compact disk, record, tape, or other medium 21 at a first sampling rate or as an analog audio signal. The songs from the compact disk or otherwise

0104are compressed to a size smaller than they would have been had the file not been

0105compressed. In other words, typically the songs are sampled at a lower sampling

0106rate than they were originally sampled at when stored on the compact disk. For

0107analog music signals the songs are sampled at the desired sampling rate.

0108Multiple users 26, 28, 30, and 32 may be interconnected to the Internet 24 to

0109facilitate communication with the server 20. For each of the audio files 22 stored

0110on the server 20 a corresponding copy of the compact disk or other medium is

0111owned, or otherwise a license to the content is obtained, by the system provider

011234 (e.g., an entity that provides the audio files for the user). In essence, for each

0113set of songs from a single album or compact disk, the provider 34 has purchased

0114the rights to that copy of the songs and the corresponding digital copy of those

0115songs that are stored on the server 20 as the audio files 22.

0116Referring also to FIG. 2, the user may initially sign into the server 20

0117to listen to and download desirable audio files 22 at block 40. The user may

0118search the audio files 22 on the server 20 at block 42 by any suitable technique,

0119such as for example, artist, name of album, name of song, name of composer,

0120name of producer, genre, etc. After locating a suitable song(s), album, or file the

0121user may initiate the downloading or listening process at block 44 for the desired

0122song file 22 from the server 20. Initially the server 20 determines if that song,

0123other songs, or other files from the album are currently downloaded or in use by

0124another user at block 46. If the song or other songs from the album are currently downloaded, in use, or being downloaded by the same or another user, then the

0125system determines if a sufficient number of copies or licenses are owned by the

0126provider 34 to permit another download. In this manner, for each copy of a song,

0127or a song on a particular album or compact disc, a corresponding copy of the

0128compact disk, license, or otherwise, is verified as being owned by the provider 34.

0129It is to be understood that when reference is made to a particular album, compact

0130disc, digital media, digital rights, tape, license, group of associated songs, group

0131of audio files for which a license to use has been obtained, or otherwise

0132ownership is obtained or otherwise established, that it is referring collectively to

0133the entire group, even if not explicitly stated. The song and/or album is

0134determined to be available or not available at block 46. If the song or album is

0135determined to be available at block 46, while a copy of the song or multiple songs

0136from the same album are being downloaded by a particular user, the

0137corresponding copy of the compact disk or license is "locked out" or otherwise

0138made unavailable to other users at block 50, if no further ownership rights are

0139available. In this manner, the owners of any copyrights in the audio content are

0140compensated for their contribution because only one digital copy, albeit

0141compressed, of that content which was obtained by the provider 34 is provided to

0142any user at any particular time. If a copy of the song or any songs on the

0143corresponding album are not downloaded, not being downloaded by others,

0144and/or otherwise the service provider 34 has a license or ownership interest in

0145another copy of (or the only copy of) the content, then the user is permitted to download a copy of the content at block 52. Upon downloading the content

0146and/or otherwise selecting content to be downloaded or streamed, the

0147corresponding compact disk or otherwise is indicated as "unavailable." In this

0148manner, audio content is made available to users in a convenient manner where

0149quality may be maintained. The provider 34 may "rip" or otherwise obtain the

0150digital audio files 22 with a desired sampling rate where the completeness of the

0151audio files are guaranteed. The provider 34 may maintain physical control over

0152the media 21 and may or may not provide the physical media 21 to the user, if

0153desired.

0154Referring to FIG. 3, (a further embodiment) after the user has

0155completed downloading the song, any other songs on the same album, or

0156licensed songs, the user may desire to search for other songs on different albums.

0157Prior to downloading or streaming a song or digital file from a different album, the

0158user may delete, if desired, the copy of the previous song(s) downloaded from the

0159server 20 at block 56. Upon deleting the previously downloaded song(s)/fιles, that

0160corresponding compact disk (license or other media) that was "locked out" is then

0161made available to other users at block 58. After deleting the previously

0162downloaded audio files, and preferably acknowledging the deletion of the audio

0163files at block 60, the user may start downloading or streaming additional

0164song(s)/files from a different album. In this manner, digital copies of songs may

0165be provided to a user without violation of the copyright owner's interest in the

0166content because only a single copy of a particular song or album, for which a legitimate ownership interest has been obtained, is downloaded/streamed or

0167otherwise the ownership interest has been transferred, at any particular time,

0168albeit preferably in a compressed digital form. In the event that there is sufficient

0169bandwidth, the digital files do not need to be compressed.

0170After consideration of the process by which the audio files are made

0171available to the user, the present inventors realized that by rearranging the order

0172of the processes may result in a decrease in the number of compact discs (i.e.,

0173media) or licenses for which ownership rights need to be obtained. Referring

0174again to FIG. 3, if the corresponding disk is blocked out at block 50 and permitted

0175to be downloaded at block 52, there exists the possibility that considerable time

0176may elapse before the user actually acknowledges the deletion of the previously

0177downloaded song(s)/album at block 56. Referring to FIG. 4, it is preferable that

0178the deletion at block 56, the acknowledgment at block 60 (if provided), and the

0179make available at block 58 are performed prior to permitting downloading of the

0180newly selected audio files at block 52. In this manner there is a reduced likelihood

0181of multiple audio files from different albums being "locked out" for a significant

0182period of time.

0183Referring to FIG. 5, the system may include a membership or fee

0184based subscription service. Prior to signing into the server at block 40 (see FIG.

01852), the user purchases a compact disk (or other media/digital rights) at block 80,

0186such as for example, from the service provider 34 or other source. The purchase

0187price may include for example, the retail price of the compact disk, and an account setup fee. In this manner, the ownership rights of a particular compact disk (or

0188other media/digital rights) are attributed to a particular user, while the service

0189provider 34 maintains physical control over the compact disk or license on behalf

0190of the user. Since the transaction may be considered a sale or otherwise a

0191purchase, the system may provide the option for providing the compact disk to the

0192user at block 82. In this manner, the compact disk is available to the user, if

0193desired. If the compact disk or license is stored by the service provider 34, then

0194the corresponding compact disk or license is "locked out" or otherwise made

0195unavailable from being purchased by other users at block 84. Accordingly,

0196ownership of a compact disk is established for a user at block 86 by their

0197purchase thereof. Alternatively, the rights to the audio content may be purchased

0198or otherwise established in any other manner. For example, a license may be

0199obtained without the purchase of the compact disk itself, a compact disk, digital

0200file, digital rights, or otherwise may be provided to the service provider 34 to

0201establish ownership rights of the content, a compact disk may be inserted into a

0202computer to establish the ownership of the installed compact disk, or otherwise

0203establish an ownership interest in the media. Preferably, the ownership interest is

0204sufficient to transfer the ownership interest to others by a gift, sale, transfer, or

0205otherwise.

0206Referring to FIG. 6, ownership of a compact disk (or otherwise the

0207medium) for a user is established at block 100 in any manner. The user may

0208relinquish ownership of the compact disk to the service provider 34 at block 102. This relinquishment may be performed, for example, by selling the compact disk

0209back to the service provider 102 and crediting the user's account. In the case of

0210digital audio files, and the desire to fully transfer effective ownership to those

0211audio files and corresponding compact disk, if any, the user preferably deletes the

0212digital audio files that the user received corresponding to the compact disk that the

0213user had an ownership right to at block 104. The user may acknowledge the

0214deletion of the song(s)/album at block 106. It is to be understood that any other

0215technique may be used to effectuate the "deletion" of a file, such as for example,

0216using technology that results in the file being non-functional after an event such as

0217listening to the file or an elapse of a period of time, removing the header portion

0218from the file, or encoding the file so that it is no longer usable. The service

0219provider 34 may then make the deleted song(s)/album, acknowledged if desired,

0220available to other users at block 108. The user may search the audio files on the

0221server 110 to locate desirable audio files. The system determines if the

0222song(s)/album is available by having an available compact disk or otherwise rights

0223to the media at block 112. If the song(s)/album is available at block 112 a

0224transaction transferring ownership in the content between the user and the system

0225is performed at block 114. The ownership transfer of the compact disk other

0226otherwise may be performed by the user, such as for example, using a credit

0227existing in his account, the user paying for the compact disk, the user exchanging

0228the previously owned compact disk established at 100 for the compact disk

0229selected at block 112, or otherwise. In essence, the system effectuates a transfer of the ownership of a compact disk (or otherwise) from the service provider 102 to

0230the user, or it may effectuate a transfer of the ownership of a compact disk (or

0231otherwise) from a user to another user. This transfer is preferably not in the

0232nature of a rental, a lease, lending, or by any other act or practice in the nature of

0233rental, lease, or lending. In that way an effective transfer of ownership, or

0234otherwise a sale, of the content is accomplished at block 114. The corresponding

0235compact disk (or otherwise) for the selected audio content is blocked out at block

02361 6. With the effective transfer at block 114 and the blocking out of the compact

0237disk (or otherwise) at block 116, the download of the song(s)/album/or otherwise

0238may be effectively performed at block 118, without impinging on any prohibition

0239against a transfer that is in the nature of a rental, a lease, lending, or the like,

0240prohibited under the Copyright Act, 2001. After downloading the content obtained

0241at block 118, the digital audio may be exchanged again, in any manner, as

0242desired.

0243In the preferred embodiment, the user is permitted to download

0244audio files originating from a single compact disk, album, or otherwise, for which a

0245corresponding compact disk or otherwise is "locked out" from being provided to

0246another user. If the user desires to simultaneously download or otherwise

0247maintain copies of audio files from multiple compact disks or otherwise then the

0248service provider 34 would "lock out" multiple compact disks or otherwise, namely,

0249one or more compact disks or otherwise that collectively contain all of the audio

0250files that are currently selected, downloaded, or being downloaded by the user. In this manner, the artists rights in this music is protected from unauthorized

0251downloading or otherwise misappropriation of their works without proper

0252compensation.

0253It is to be understood that the user may purchase or otherwise

0254establish ownership for multiple compact disks or otherwise, if desired. In that

0255manner, the user does not need to delete all of the downloaded audio files, but

0256only the portion corresponding to the compact disk or otherwise that the user is

0257transferring ownership back to the service provider 34 or the user is transferring

0258ownership to another user. This permits the user more flexibility in the selection of

0259audio content without deletion of any files that has been lawfully obtained.

0260The digital audio content may be provided to the user in any suitable

0261format desired. For example, some of the existing file formats include, MP3,

0262Liquid Audio, Real Player, MPEG 1 , MPEG 2, and wav files. In addition, the

0263digital audio content may be provided as "streaming" media which is listened to as

0264the media is being provided to the user.

0265Referring to FIG. 7, the system may include monitoring software 130

0266installed, otherwise operating on the user's computer, or available to the user

0267through a networked connection, to assist in the selection of suitable songs. The

0268monitoring software 130 may include an interface that permits the searching for

0269and selection of songs by artist, genre, lyrics, year, decade, title of album, title of

0270song, or any other suitable search criteria. If desired, the monitoring software 130

0271may track the downloading of songs for one or more albums obtained from the server 20 and where the corresponding digital files are stored by the user.

0272Thereafter, when the user desires to download additional audio files from other

0273compact disks, the system may automatically delete the previously downloaded

0274audio content so that the corresponding compact disk may be made available to

0275other users.

0276The exchange of audio files using the server may be further limited

0277or otherwise modified by other criteria. Referring to FIG. 8, the criteria may

0278include a limited time during which the user is permitted to listen to the audio

0279content at block 150. In this manner, the purchase, transfer of the ownership, or

0280otherwise will only be valid for a limited time duration, such as 2 hours. This

0281likewise permits the service provider 34 to maintain a smaller collection of

0282compact disks because the corresponding audio content is not "checked out" to a

0283particular user for an extended period of time. The time limitation may be based

0284upon, the user's voluntary agreement to delete the songs after a time duration, the

0285monitoring software 130 deleting the songs, a time indication provided with the

0286audio file indicating the time during which the file may listened to and other times

0287the file being rendered inoperable, or otherwise any suitable technique.

0288It may be observed that this system of exchanging or otherwise

0289transferring ownership rights to digital audio files corresponding to compact disks,

0290or otherwise media rights, results in a system that permits users to listen to a wide

0291selection of different songs. In this manner, the system may be free from the

0292necessity to purchase or otherwise obtain licenses from the copyright holders apart from the license that comes with the purchase of the media.

0293The criteria may include a comparison between the value of the

0294compact disk currently purchased or otherwise attributed to the user, and the

0295value of the compact disk or otherwise from which songs are desired, at block

0296152. This permits the system provider 34 to avoid situations in which the user

0297purchases a relatively inexpensive compact disk and exchanges that compact disk

0298with a relatively expensive compact disk, thereby depriving the service provider 34

0299or another user of adequate compensation. Likewise, if the user purchases a

0300relatively expensive compact disk and exchanges that compact disk with an

0301relatively inexpensive compact disk, the user's account may be credited or the

0302user reimbursed in some suitable manner.

0303The criteria may include limitations based on the sign up fee paid by

0304the user. In general, different number of albums, files, or otherwise may be

0305provided, more extensive selections, and greater flexibility if the user pays a

0306relatively higher fee at block 154.

0307The criteria may include limitations based upon the type of the media

0308at block 156, such as for example, analog tape, 8-track, laser disc, compact disk,

0309album, super audio compact disk, digital audio disc, etc. In this manner, the

0310system may compensate for the expense of purchasing the corresponding media,

0311with compact disks tending to be more expensive than tapes. In one example, the

0312trading for some users may be limited to audio tapes.

0313The criteria may include the genre of the music being listened to at block 158. The popular music in some genres, such a rock, tend to be transitory

0314in nature so that the album is in high demand for a limited period of time therefore

0315resulting in the service provider 34 purchasing of many copies of the

0316corresponding media. However, after a limited period of time, the album will tend

0317to be relatively unpopular after which the service provider 34 will have a large

0318collection of corresponding media without any corresponding demand. After this

0319occurrence, the service provider 34 may sell the corresponding media at a

0320considerable loss. In contrast, genres that have a stable demand will not result in

0321such temporary over purchasing of corresponding media and therefore will tend to

0322be less expensive for the service provider 34.

0323The criteria may include user preferences at block 160 by which the

0324user selects exchange and usage limitations. The user preferences may be used

0325as the basis for determining the fee criteria for the exchanging of audio files or

0326otherwise.

0327The criteria may include the length of the audio files, number of

0328audio files exchanged or otherwise downloaded, or otherwise the number of audio

0329files on a particular compact disk(s) at block 162. Similarly, this criteria may

0330permit the service provider 34 to adjust the fee schedule based upon the

0331bandwidth for file transfer that the user will be using to download the songs.

0332The present inventors determined that there may be copyright

0333ownership considerations relating to the simultaneous storing of compressed

0334digital audio files, such as MP3 files, on the server, transferring the ownership of the compact disk or otherwise to the user, permitting downloading or streaming of

0335the digital audio files to the user, still maintaining the digital audio files on the

0336server after the transfer has occurred without another copy of the compact disk

0337being owned by the service provider 34 or other users, and maintaining backups

0338of the digital audio files. In essence, the service provider 34 may have transferred

0339ownership of the compact disk or otherwise and the corresponding digital files or

0340otherwise but might retain a copy of the digital files on the server. Referring to

0341FIG. 9A, the service provider 34 may store one or more of the compact disks in a

0342compact disk jukebox 200 or other system that makes the physical compact disk

0343available on demand. In the event that the downloading of the digital audio files

0344and the corresponding digital audio files represent the only remaining copy of the

0345corresponding compact disk owned by the service provider 34 (block 202), then

0346the service provider 34 may delete the digital audio file after transferring the digital

0347audio file to the user at block 204. In this manner, only one single copy of the

0348digital audio file and possibly a backup of that digital audio file will be maintained

0349corresponding to a single compact disk. After the user exchanges the compact

0350disk at block 206 the digital audio files may be "ripped" from the compact disk at

0351block 208 to the server or possibly retrieved from a backup copy to replace the

0352digital audio files previously deleted. In addition, the user could likewise retransfer

0353the digital audio files back to the server, if desired. However, for each compact

0354disk where the service provider 34 has multiple copies of the same disk, the

0355service provider 34 may only need to "rip" one set of digital files, which could result in substantial time and cost savings. Moreover, with the "ripping" of the

0356digital audio files being performed by the service provider 34 the quality and

0357completeness of the digital audio files may be maintained.

0358Referring to FIG. 9B, the service provider 34 stores or otherwise has

0359ownership rights in an assortment of compact disks at block 220. The service

0360provider 34 likewise may store digital audio files corresponding to the compact

0361disks at block 222. Further, the service provider 220 may likewise have internal

0362backups of the digital audio files at block 224. The user may download the digital

0363audio files from the provider 34 at block 226. In the event that an insufficient

0364number of a particular compact disk is not "locked out" or otherwise available to

0365other users, such as the last copy of the compact disk is provided to a user at

0366block 226, then the service provider 34 may be considered to be storing a backup

0367copy of the digital audio files on the server 20 on behalf of the user. In this

0368manner, when the user exchanges the particular compact disk the server 20 may

0369use the previously stored backup of the digital audio files for other users.

0370Accordingly, the system may permit the last compact disk to be "locked out" while

0371retaining a backup copy of the digital audio files on the server 20 to alleviate the

0372need to "rip" another set of digital audio files from the compact disk.

0373Referring to FIG. 10, the service provider 34 may provide an annual

0374or other periodic subscription model for operating the service business. For

0375example, the user may initially purchase a compact disk or other, and pay an

0376account setup fee and/or renewal fee at block 300 and/or other fees. The purchase of the compact disk may be at a retail price or other suitable price. The

0377fee for the compact disk may likewise vary based on the price of the compact disk

0378selected. The account setup fee, may be for example, a one time fee for creating

0379an account on the system. The renewal fee may be a periodic fee, such as

0380monthly, quarterly, annually, etc., for access or otherwise using to the system.

0381After a period of time, such as an annual time, the system may consider the

0382purchased compact disk as a "used" compact disk, even though the actual

0383compact disk may not have been actually removed from its packaging or

0384otherwise used in the traditional sense at block 302. The compact disk assigned

0385a "used" value may be the disk the user has currently exchanged for, the compact

0386disk or other purchased when setting up the account, or otherwise any suitable

0387disk or media right. A value may be attributed to the "used" compact disk at block

0388304. The user may have the option of having the "used" compact disk forwarded

0389to them, with the addition of shipping and handling charges, if desired at block

0390306. If the user does not desire to have the compact disk forwarded, such as at

0391the end of a renewal period, then the "used" value of the compact disk may be

0392credited to his account by selling the compact disk to the service provider 34 or

0393another user at block 308. The user may then select another compact disk for the

0394next period of time, such as an annual time, at block 310. The service provider 34

0395may charge the user a fee for the renewal, which may include for example, a

0396renewal fee and the price of the new disc minus the "value" of the "used" compact

0397disk, at block 312. In this manner, the user has the option of selling the "used" compact disk, if desired. In addition, the user may have the option of crediting the

0398sale of the "used" compact disk toward the purchase of a new compact disk for

0399the next time period. In other words, this effectuates a sale of the compact disk or

0400otherwise being stored by the service provider 34 and likewise permits the user to

0401purchase another compact disk or otherwise from the service provider 34 or

0402another user.

0403Referring to FIG. 11 , another option for termination of the annual

0404subscription is to provide for forfeiture of the compact disk or otherwise. The

0405forfeiture may be automatic, in the event that the user can not be contacted, or in

0406the event that the user does not renew or otherwise agree to pay for the shipping

0407and handling. In this manner, the compact disk or otherwise may become

0408property of the service provider 34 and the agreement with the user will be

0409terminated.

0410Referring to FIG. 12, the service provider 34 may sign up its own

0411artists and act in the capacity of a record label itself. In this manner, the service

0412provider 34 may be the owner of all of the copyright rights in the music, to the

0413extent possible under current Copyright Laws of the particular jurisdiction. The

0414service provider 34 artists may likewise include artists where the service provider

041534 is alleviated from having to pay the normal royalties owed the copyright owners

0416if the music was provided in a typical manner, such as by radio or other broadcast.

0417In general, the artists provided by the service provider 34 will incur less royalties

0418than would have normally otherwise because of contractual relationships with the artists or other copyright holders. The service provider 34 may provide the option

0419to users of sampling its own artists at block 350. The user may select one of the

0420service provider 34 artists at block 352. The user may, after downloading (e.g.,

0421purchasing) songs on non-service provider 34 compact disks at block 360, select

0422to exchange the currently downloaded audio files for one of the service provider

042334 artists at block 350 before signing off the service. In this manner, the time

0424between uses of the system by the user during which the user may be "parked" on

0425expensive compact disks or other expensive audio files is minimized. This may

0426reduce the expense of the available digital files for the service provider 34. This

0427frees up additional audio files for other users and reduces the inventory required

0428by the service provider 34 to provide a full selection.

0429The preferred embodiments envision that the audio files may be

0430transferred by some type of file transfer or streaming media. In addition, the audio

0431files may be free from encryption that limits their use, copyright water marking,

0432proprietary formats for a particular system, a file encryption that inhibits copying of

0433the file, a file encryption that inhibits or otherwise limits the number of copies that

0434may be made, time limited durations, etc. In this manner, the audio files are freely

0435transferable from one system to another, while operating properly. In addition, the

0436system may use streaming audio content where instead of transferring digital

0437audio files the audio content is streamed in a continuous fashion to the user's

0438computer, while the user simultaneously listens to the content as it is being

0439streamed or otherwise listens to the content at later time. Moreover, the server 20 may simultaneously stream and download the file to the user. In addition, the

0440audio files may be provided to the user in a manner that requires modification of

0441the audio file after downloading prior to listening to the file. In this manner, the

0442distribution of the audio files may be more readily controlled, if desired. If desired,

0443the audio files may be directly provided via an e-mail or likewise to the user or

0444otherwise made available for downloading from the server. The server may make

0445the audio files available in an "in box" or other user account that resides on the

0446server. In this manner, the audio files are made available and the user may

0447selectively download the desirable audio files. After the audio files are

0448exchanged, transferred, sold, or otherwise relinquished or transfer ownership

0449thereof, the server may simply remove access to the audio files from the user's "in

0450box" or the user's account.

0451Referring to FIG. 13, the user may select audio content at block 380.

0452If the system determines that less than a selected number of copies of the

0453compact disk are available, such as zero, one, two, etc., then the system at block

0454382 may desire to obtain additional copies or otherwise rights to more audio files.

0455While ordering additional compact disks or digital rights through the mail is

0456possible, it is prohibitively time consuming when a customer desires the audio files

0457at that time. To overcome this limitation, a computer networked based automatic

0458purchasing agent may be used to purchase an additional compact disk or other

0459rights at block 384. In the event that there were no additional copies or otherwise

0460rights to audio files available from the server (or less than the desired number), the audio files are permitted to be downloaded or otherwise purchased at block

0461386 after the automated purchasing agent has secured the rights to additional

0462copies of the compact disks or ownership rights.

0463The system may track the exchange of audio files for particular

0464users. In this manner valuable statistical data is obtained that may be used for

0465any suitable purpose, including the selection of additional audio files. The data

0466may include, for example, popularity of particular compact disks, popularity of

0467particular songs on particular compact disks, popularity of songs/compact disks as

0468a function of the time of day, groups of albums that are likely desirable by the

0469same user by monitoring user's exchanges, popularity of songs/compact disks as

0470a function of the region of the country, popularity of songs/compact disks as a

0471function of the age of the user, popularity of songs/compact disks as a function of

0472the sex of the user, popularity of songs/compact disks as a function of the

0473demographics of the user, popularity of songs/compact disks as a function of the

0474income of the user, popularity of songs/compact disks as a function of the duration

0475the audio files were purchased by the user, popularity of songs/compact disks as

0476a function of whether the corresponding compact disk or single was purchased,

0477popularity of songs/compact disks as a function of the artist, popularity of

0478songs/compact disks as a function of the genre, popularity of songs/compact disks

0479as a function of the year, popularity of songs/compact disks as a function of the

0480decade/year the compact disk was released, and popularity of songs/compact

0481disks as a function of the decade/year the compact disk was recorded. Referring to FIG. 14, in another embodiment the system may be

0482used in a peer-to-peer environment where different users 400, 402, 404, and 406

0483sign into the server 410. The users preferably provide a list of available audio files

0484to the server 410 or to all, or a selected set of, the other users which can be

0485exchanged with other users. The users may then search the server to locate

0486other users that have desirable audio files for downloading from the other user. In

0487this manner the server 410 acts as a clearing house for available audio files for

0488transfer between users. In addition, the server 410 likewise preferably tracks

0489which files each of the users has ownership rights in. In addition, the sever 410

0490may be implemented in the manner of a distributed server residing on one or more

0491of the user's computers. When a user desires to obtain ownership rights to

0492another compact disk or otherwise, the server 410 or otherwise distributed server

0493"locks" out a corresponding compact disk or otherwise makes available audio

0494ownership rights for the user transferring a copy of the audio files from the other

0495user. In this manner, the server 410 acts as an ownership clearing house for the

0496audio ownership rights. In a similar manner, user's may transfer ownership rights

0497of audio files back to the server 410, or others users, and obtain new audio files

0498from other users, while the server 410 or other user provides the user

0499downloading the file with the proper ownership rights to the media. In this

0500manner, the server 410 (or other users) acts as a clearing house for audio files

0501while the actual files are being transferred from other users, as opposed to the

0502server itself. The system shown in FIG. 14, may be extended to eliminate the

0503server, where the user's perform the exchange between themselves. In this

0504manner, the user's will transfer the digital audio files between themselves while

0505likewise providing the compact disk or otherwise to the other user. Alternatively,

0506the user may store the compact disk on behalf of the user obtaining the digital

0507audio files. Further, the user providing the digital audio files preferably deletes

0508any copies of the files that he has after transfer.

0509In addition to audio files, the system may be used to transfer other

0510types of digital files. Such digital files may include digital video content, computer

0511software, or any other type of digital content.

0512The user may likewise purchase a compact disk from the service

0513provider 34 which is shipped to the user, and the corresponding digital audio files

0514are provided to the user with the compact disk or otherwise provided to the user

0515through a computer network.