Abstract: An electronic device provides, to a user, a user-curated playlist, the user-curated playlist including an ordered set of media items that were added by the user. While providing a first media item in the ordered set of media items, the electronic device receives a first user input selecting an option to include recommended media items in the user-curated playlist. In response to the first user input, the electronic device updates the user-curated playlist to include a first recommended media item, the first recommended media item selected without user intervention based at least in part on attributes of the user-curated playlist. The first recommended media item is positioned in the user-curated playlist in between media items that were added to the ordered set of media items by the user.

Abstract: Systems and methods for estimating a long-term effect in the presence of unobserved confounding are provided. For example, a long-term effect of a change in user interface of a media playback application may be estimated. An experimental dataset and an observational dataset may be compiled using data from a plurality of computing devices. The observational dataset may include unobserved confounding. Using the experimental dataset, a short-term effect may be determined. Using the short-term effect and samples from the observational dataset, an instrumental variable may be computed that may be used in instrumental variable regression to estimate the long-term effect.

Abstract: An electronic device obtains a plurality of media items, including, for each media item in the plurality, a set of attributes of the media item. The device provides the set of attributes for each media item of the plurality of media items to a machine learning model that is trained to determine a pairwise similarity between respective media items in the plurality of media items and generates an acyclic graph of an output of the machine learning model that is trained to determine pairwise similarity distances between respective media items in the plurality of media items. The device clusters nodes of the acyclic graph, each node corresponding to a media item. Based on the clustering, the electronic device modifies metadata associated with a first media item in a first cluster and displays a representation of the first media item in a user interface according to the modified metadata.

Abstract: This disclosure is directed to systems and methods for managing a group session for consuming media content across a plurality of devices. In some configurations and by non-limiting example, the group session operates to synchronize playback and control of media content at the plurality of devices. In one aspect a method of simultaneously playing media content on a plurality of media playback devices for a group session is disclosed.

Abstract: A system for device discovery for social playback is disclosed. The system operates to connect a host media playback device to a media output device and broadcast a social playback session to guest media playback devices. Upon joining a social playback session, a guest media playback device may control the media playback at the host media playback device. Where the media output for the social playback session is provided by the media output device.

Abstract: A method includes retrieving a text from a database. The text corresponds to audio from a media content item that is provided by a media providing service, and the text includes a plurality of segments. The method also includes assigning a score for each segment in the text by applying the text to a trained computational model. The score corresponds to a predicted relevance of the respective segment to a narrative of the media content item. The method further includes identifying a non-narrative segment within the text using the assigned scores.

Abstract: An electronic device provides, to a model trained to generate synthetic queries, information corresponding to a first media content item and a first value for a parameter indicative of query specificity. The device receives, from the model trained to generate synthetic queries, a first query corresponding to the first media content item, wherein the first query is generated in accordance with the first value for the parameter indicative of query specificity. The device provides, to a client device for display at the client device, the first query and receives user selection of the first query. In response to the user selection of the first query, the device provides a first result set of media content items for the first query.

Abstract: Systems, devices, apparatuses, components, methods, and techniques for automatically generating media previews are provided. An example media system for automatically generating media previews for a particular artist include a trailer generation application configured to receive input specifying an artist and duration of a trailer, automatically select clips from two or more media items by the artist, and automatically arrange and combine the clips into a media trailer for later playback.

Abstract: Systems and methods for skipping to playback positions in media content using seek guides are provided. Seek guides may be associated with a media content item. Each seek guide may have a position and a radius. When a user skips to a reference position, a seek guide selector may select a seek guide to use in setting a new playback position. The seek guide selector may use a probabilistic distribution positioned based on the reference position to select a seek guide. Probabilities may be calculated for each seek guide using a cumulative distribution function, and the seek guides may be ranked based on the calculated probabilities. A seek guide may be selected based on the ranking, and a new playback position may be set based on the position of the selected seek guide.

Abstract: Systems and methods for teaching a user a language using media content are provided. Translation prompts may be automatically presented to the user as the user listens to music on a computing device. The translation prompts may present a question to the user asking the user to translate a lyric in the music. The translation prompts may be personalized for the user based on the user's skill level and language learning needs. Music may also be selected for the user based on the user's music taste and the music having lyrics that are appropriate for the user's skill level and language learning needs.

Abstract: An electronic device identifies a set of seed content items that correspond to violative content items. The electronic device determines, using playback histories indicating consumption of respective content items, connections between a respective content item and a first audience that has consumed the respective content item and that has consumed at least a threshold number of seed content items from the set of seed content items. The electronic device provides information corresponding to the connections as an input to a machine learning model. The electronic device receives, as an output from the machine learning model, likelihoods that respective content items are violative content items and stores a set of content items, selected using the output from the machine learning model, as candidate content items in accordance with a determination that the content item satisfies likelihood criteria.

Abstract: Media content episodes are received. Using machine learning, one or more media segments of interest are identified in each of the media content episodes based at least in part on an analysis of content included in a corresponding audio content episode. Each of the identified media segments is associated with one or more automatically determined tags. Using machine learning, a recommended media segment is selected for a specific user from the identified media segments based at least in part on attributes of the specific user and the automatically determined tags of the identified media segments. The recommended media segment is automatically provided in an media segment feed.

Abstract: A system for refinement of a voice query interpretation interprets a voice query received at a voice-enabled device to identify commands responsive to the voice query for execution at the voice-enabled device, and enables refinement of the interpretation of the voice query through a graphical user interface generated and displayed at a GUI-capable device. The graphical user interface includes a set of selectable options relating to the voice query and identifying a refinement of the interpretation of the voice query to enable control and/or adjustment of commands to be executed by the voice-enabled device. For example, if one of the selectable options is selected, then a command associated with the selected option is identified and executed by the voice-enabled device.

Abstract: Apparatus, methods and computer-readable medium are provided for processing wind noise. Audio input is processed by receiving an audio input. A wind noise level representative of a wind noise at the microphone array is measured using the audio input and a determination is made, based on the wind noise level, whether to perform either (i) a wind noise suppression process on the audio input on-device, or (ii) the wind noise suppression process on the audio input on-device and an audio reconstruction process in-cloud.

Abstract: While a first media content item from a shared playback session is being presented on a set of presentation devices, each of the set of presentation devices corresponding to a respective user of a plurality of users in the shared playback session, a master device receives a request to modify playback of the shared playback session from an observer device of a set of observer devices that corresponds to a presentation device for a first user, wherein the set of observer devices is different from the set of presentation devices. In response to the request to modify playback of the shared playback session, the master device sends a command for an action selected based on the request to each of the set of presentation devices.

Abstract: An electronic device stores, for a user of a media-providing service, a playback history that includes information about media items that have previously been consumed by the user. The electronic device receives a request to search for media content including search criteria. In response to the request, and without additional user intervention, the electronic device generates a vector representation of the user using media items from the playback history of the user that are relevant to the search criteria. The electronic device identifies one or more media content items from a media content library that match the vector representation of the user and the search criteria and provides, to the user, the one or more media content items.

Abstract: A media content steering solution is provided to identify a user query to steer playback of media content that is currently playing or has been played. The user steering query can include a voice request for playing media content that is relatively different from the media content being currently played or having been played. The media content steering solution analyzes the utterance of the user query and uses it to identify such different content that satisfies the user intent contained in the user query.

Abstract: Systems, devices, apparatuses, components, methods, and techniques for predicting user and media-playback device states are provided. Systems, devices, apparatuses, components, methods, and techniques for representing cached, user-selected, and streaming content are also provided.

Abstract: An electronic device generates a score for each objective in a hierarchy of objectives. Generating the score comprises, using a first machine learning algorithm, generating a score for a first objective corresponding to a first level in the hierarchy of the objectives and using an output of the first machine learning algorithm, distinct from the score for the first objective, as an input to a second machine learning algorithm to generate a score for a second objective corresponding to a second level in the hierarchy of objectives. The electronic device generates a combined score using the score for the first objective and the score for the second objective. The electronic device selects, automatically without user input, media content based on the combined scores for the plurality of media content items and streams, using an application of the media-providing service, one or more of the selected media content to a user.

Abstract: A method is provided for initiating a first shared playback session at a first device of a host user. The method includes, in response to receiving the request from the second device: in accordance with a determination that the second device is a first type of device, providing, to the second device, a first joining method for joining the first shared playback session and in accordance with a determination that the second device is a second type of device, providing, to the second device, a second joining method, distinct from the first joining method for joining the first shared playback session.