The method of determining a characteristic of a content item comprises the steps of selecting (1) data representative of a plurality of sounds from the content item, determining (3) a characteristic of each of the plurality of sounds by analyzing said data, each characteristic representing a temporal aspect of an amplitude of one of the plurality of sounds, and determining (5) the characteristic of the content item based on the plurality of determined characteristics. The characteristic of the content item and/or a genre and/or mood based on the characteristic of the content item may be associated with the content item as an attribute value. If the content item is part of a collection of content items, the attribute value can be used in a method of searching for a content item in the collection of content items. The electronic device of the invention comprises electronic circuitry. The electronic circuitry is operative to perform one or both methods of the invention.