Digital music download service eMusic on Tuesday became the first service to launch in all 25 European Union member nations, going head-to-head with iTunes.

The top alternative to market leader iTunes, eMusic appeals to a generally older audience (age 25-54), especially jazz and classical aficionados, writes Reuters. eMusic carries 1.7 million songs from 8,500 independent record labels and is the only large-scale service that delivers songs in MP3 format, which can be played on any portable music player, including the iPod. The European sites will charge a monthly subscription fee from 12.99 euros ($16.79) for 40 downloads - to 20.99 euros for 90 downloads.

eMusic's 13 percent U.S. market share surpasses those of Rhapsody, MSN Music, Napster, Yahoo and AOL, but is a distant second to iTunes' 60 percent.

None of the four major music companies worldwide has agreed to supply songs to eMusic because of the digital rights protection issue (i.e., its use of MP3). CEO David Pakman said until they agree to distribute in the MP3 format, eMusic will not carry their songs.