Ordering items of playable content or other works

Abstract

A terminal and system for sampling and ordering items of playable content prior to potential purchase, the terminal being preferably located at a retail site, comprising input means for inputting selection information, and reproduction means for replaying parts of selected items, the terminal being arranged to determine a characteristic of a particular item in dependence on local factors such as factors relating to the site in which the terminal is located.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A system comprising:
 one or more computers; and   a computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more computers having instructions stored thereon for enabling a customer to sample items of playable content prior to purchase, the instructions, when executed by the one or more computers, causing the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:   receiving, over a private telecommunications channel from a terminal disposed in a retail site, input selection information identifying an item to be sampled by a customer, the item including playable content;   determining a base price associated with the item;   determining, when the input selection information is received, a current usage of the private telecommunications channel, accessing a pricing model for the item of playable content that depends on the current usage of the private telecommunications channel when the input selection information is received;   determining a price characteristic of the item of playable content based on the base price and the pricing model;   transmitting the price characteristic over the private telecommunications channel to the terminal for display to the customer;   transmitting a sample of the item over the private telecommunications channel to the terminal; and   receiving a signal indicating that the customer intends to purchase the item, after the price characteristic has been transmitted to the terminal.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the private telecommunications channel is a secure private telecommunications channel other than the Internet. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the price characteristic comprises a price of the item of playable content at a time when the current usage is determined. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the database record further comprises a mood classification field. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the database record further comprises an average age field. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the database record further comprises a predominant sex field. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein determining the price characteristic of the item further comprises:
 calculating a first price when the current usage of the private telecommunications channel is at a first network load; and   calculating a second price when the current usage of the private telecommunications channel is at a second network load,   wherein the first price is different from the second price.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 ,
 wherein the first price is lower than the second price when the first network load is lower than the second network load, and   wherein the first price is higher than the second price when the first network load is higher than the second network load.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the first network load corresponds to an off-peak network load, and   wherein the second network load corresponds to a peak network load.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 interrogating a stock control computer associated with the retail site based on the item, and   transmitting an availability indicia to the terminal over the private telecommunications channel when, based on interrogating the stock control computer, the item is available at the retail site.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein determining a base price associated with the item further comprises interrogating a content database for a database record associated with the content. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the database record further comprises two or more of a catalog number field, a mood classification field, an average age field, a predominant sex field, a related item list field, and a delivery period field. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the item is an album, a video cassette, a T-shirt, a video game, or a digital versatile disc (DVD). 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein transmitting the sample of the item over the private telecommunications channel to the terminal further comprises downloading music content to an MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3) player at the terminal. 
     
     
         16 . A computer-implemented method for enabling a customer to sample items of playable content prior to purchase, comprising:
 receiving, over a private telecommunications channel from a terminal disposed in a retail site, input selection information identifying an item to be sampled by a customer, the item including playable content;   determining a base price associated with the item;   determining, when the input selection information is received, a current usage of the private telecommunications channel;   accessing a pricing model for the item of playable content that depends on the current usage of the private telecommunications channel when the input selection information is received;   determining a price characteristic of the item of playable content based on the base price and the pricing model;   transmitting the price characteristic over the private telecommunications channel to the terminal for display to the customer;   transmitting a sample of the item over the private telecommunications channel to the terminal; and   receiving a signal indicating that the customer intends to purchase the item, after the price characteristic has been transmitted to the terminal.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 interrogating a stock control computer associated with the retail site based on the item, and   transmitting an availability indicia to the terminal over the private telecommunications channel when, based on interrogating the stock control computer, the item is available at the retail site.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the database record further comprises two or more of a catalog number field, a mood classification field, an average age field, a predominant sex field, a related item list field, and a delivery period field. 
     
     
         19 . A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program comprising instructions for enabling a customer to sample items of playable content prior to purchase, the instructions, when executed, operate to cause a computer to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, over a private telecommunications channel from a terminal disposed in a retail site, input selection information identifying an item to be sampled by a customer, the item including playable content;   determining a base price associated with the item;   determining, when the input selection information is received, a current usage of the private telecommunications channel;   accessing a pricing model for the item of playable content that depends on the current usage of the private telecommunications channel when the input selection information is received;   determining a price characteristic of the item of playable content based on the base price and the pricing model;   transmitting the price characteristic over the private telecommunications channel to the terminal for display to the customer;   transmitting a sample of the item over the private telecommunications channel to the terminal; and   receiving a signal indicating that the customer intends to purchase the item, after the price characteristic has been transmitted to the terminal.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the private telecommunications channel is a secure private telecommunications channel other than the Internet. 
     
     
         21 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the database record further comprises an average age field.