The European download site eMusic is offering a subscription service with unrestricted downloads compatible with any digital music player.

eMusic is the world's largest online retailer of independent music and the second most successful site in the United States, following iTunes.

European consumers will be able to choose among three subscription levels, offering 40, 65 or 90 downloads of MP3 recordings per month. Assuming a subscriber downloads the maximum number of songs permitted by his package, the cost per track is less than one-third of what iTunes charges, BBC reported.

Apple's music is in the AAC format and has Digital Rights Management technology that make tracks incompatible with players other than iPod, but eMusic does not use DRM.

We are not against DRM, European eMusic President Steve McCauley said. But we are against technology that prevents customers doing what they want with their music.

Despite the low cost per track, Vice President of JupiterResearch Mark Mulligan suggested that eMusic will attempt to profit from customers who do not exhaust their monthly limits.

It's like the restaurant that offers an all-you-can-eat buffet, Mulligan said.