On Wednesday at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET), Google is expected to announce a music downloading service or store.
While Google has not confirmed that they will be launching a music service, multiple sources have spoken of a full-blown, socially integrated music store that will be an extension of the web giant's cloud-based storage service, Google Music Beta.
Further proof that the announcement will be something music related? The event is called "This Goes To Eleven" and invites distributed last week were sent by "Nigel Tufnel". Both are references to "This Is Spinal Tap", Rob Reiner's cult classic music industry mockumentary.
Songs on Google Music are expected to cost between $.99 and $1.29, Bloomberg reports, and Google may offer discounts such as a "Free Song Of The Day."
The question of which songs will be available for sale has been the major point of debate. In October, only Universal and EMI were expected to sign on. Sony and Warner, the other major music labels, were reluctant to attach their names due to pricing and piracy concerns. According to Bloomberg, Google finally convinced Sony to join Google Music on Tuesday night, just a day before the new music project is expected to go public.
But major label downloads won't be the only music on tap. As The Wall Street Journal writes that independent labels will distribute songs through Google Music as well.
Warner may be the only holdout, but it's a biggie since according to Gizmodo, Warner's catalog includes new and old-school greats like "Cher, Cee Lo, Diddy, Gucci Mane, Green Day, The Prodigy, Van Halen."
You may be able to buy "American Idiot" on iTunes, but who will you share it with? Apple's music sharing feature, Ping, is pretty much dead in the water, giving a potential Google service the opportunity to shine as a socially integration feature.
The Wall Street Journal also reports that not only will Google Music users be able to share which songs they purchase with their Google+ circles, their circles will actually be able to listen to the songs for free at least once.
Excited? Can't wait to find out? You can watch the event live by tuning in to Google's Android channel on YouTube.