Remote Creation of a Playback Queue for a Future Event

Abstract

Embodiments are described herein that allow for remote creation of a playback queue. In one aspect, a method is provided that involves (1) receiving by a computing device an electronic invitation to add a media item(s) to a playback queue of a media playback system, where the electronic invitation comprises a link to access information identifying a set of media items available for playback by the media playback system, and where the computing device and the media playback system are communicatively coupled via at least a WAN, (2) causing by the computing device a graphical display to display the information identifying the set of media items available for playback, and (3) sending by the computing device selection data that indicates a selection of a particular media item from the set of media items to be added to the playback queue of the media playback system.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving by a computing device an electronic invitation to add at least one media item to a playback queue of a media playback system, wherein the electronic invitation comprises a link to access information identifying a set of media items available for playback by the media playback system, and wherein the computing device and the media playback system are communicatively coupled via at least a wide area network (WAN);   causing by the computing device a graphical display to display the information identifying the set of media items available for playback by the media playback system; and   sending by the computing device selection data that indicates a selection of a particular media item from the set of media items to be added to the playback queue of the media playback system.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the WAN comprises a cellular network. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic invitation further comprises a time element that indicates a time after which media items will not be available to be added to the playback queue. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the time element comprises a countdown timer, and wherein the media items will not be available to be added to the playback queue upon expiration of the countdown timer. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 sending by the computing device annotation data that indicates annotation information that is associated with the selection to be added to the playback queue.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the annotation data comprises one of message data and image data. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein causing by the computing device the graphical display to display the information identifying the set of media items comprises causing the graphical display to display via a web interface. 
     
     
         8 . The method  claim 1 , wherein the selection of the media item comprises a selection of at least one of a media item title, an artist name, an album title, or a genre. 
     
     
         9 . A method comprising:
 providing, by a computing system that is communicatively coupled to a media playback system via a WAN, a plurality of electronic invitations to a plurality of respective remote computing devices to add at least one media item to a playback queue of the media playback system, wherein each of the plurality of electronic invitations comprises a link to access information identifying one or more media items available for playback by the media playback system;   receiving by the computing system selection data that indicates one or more media item selections associated with one or more of the plurality of electronic invitations; and   populating by the computing system the playback queue based on the one or more media item selections indicated by the received selection data.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 providing by the computing system a playlist comprising information that identifies the media items in the playback queue.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 providing by the computing system annotation data that indicates annotation information that is associated with a particular media item identified in the playlist.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the annotation data comprises image data that indicates a photo associated with the particular media item. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 before providing the plurality of invitations, receiving by the computing system from a given computing device instruction data that includes an instruction to provide the plurality of electronic invitations to the plurality of respective remote computing devices.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the given computing device is associated with the media playback system. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 responsive to the expiration of a predefined amount of time, preventing by the computing system any future media item selections.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 providing a media item to the media playback system for playback.   
     
     
         17 . A computing system comprising:
 a network interface, wherein the network interface communicatively couples the computing system to a media playback system via a WAN;   a non-transitory computer readable medium; and   program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium and executable by at least one processor to cause the computing system to:
 provide a plurality of electronic invitations to a plurality of respective remote computing devices to add at least one media item to a playback queue of the media playback system, wherein each of the plurality of electronic invitations comprises a link to access information identifying one or more media items available for playback by the media playback system; 
 receive selection data that indicates one or more media item selections associated with one or more of the plurality of electronic invitations; and 
 populate the playback queue based on the one or more media item selections indicated by the received selection data. 
   
     
     
         18 . The computing system of  claim 17 , wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to further cause the computing system to:
 provide a playlist comprising information that identifies the media items in the playback queue.   
     
     
         19 . The computing system of  claim 17 , wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to further cause the computing system to:
 provide annotation data that indicates annotation information that is associated with a particular media item identified in the playlist.   
     
     
         20 . The computing system of  claim 17 , wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to further cause the computing system to:
 responsive to the expiration of a predefined amount of time, prevent any future media item selections.