An invitation to the event promises announcements that "will be music to your ears". The event could serve as a launching point for a new digital music service that Apple has been working on for some time. The company also may launch new iPods, replacing the current generation of the digital music player which has grown increasingly scarce on store shelves.

There has been much talk of Apple and music of late, including speculation that the company has been in talks with Vivendi Universal to buy Vivendi's music business. Last week, Apple issued a statement saying that it has not made an offer for any record companies, although the company did not address whether it has been in talks with any of the major record labels.

If Apple does launch the music service, it will be the first legal download service that offers content from the major record labels and is available for the Macintosh. Apple has found itself excluded from the initial music and movie download services.