That would be true if App.net pays out $20,000 a month to developers, for forever. App.net promises to pay $20,000 to developers, but is that a fixed cost? If it is a fixed cost, then you are right, the more people who sign up, the lower the subscription price can be. A million users could fund $20,000 a month very easily. But is $20,000 a month fair to the developers? By the time App.net has a million users, we can assume there will be a lot of apps competing for a slice of that $20,000. What happens when there are 1,000 apps in the eco-system. Do they all get $20 a month? If yes, then hasn't App.net failed at its primary stated mission, of helping fund app development?

If App.net is to remain true to its mission, then that $20,000 should go up over time. And if it goes up over time, it is no longer so clear that subscription levels can remain as low as they are now.

We should ask how much money App.net is making. Similar services are upfront about what percentage they take from the subscriber's money. App.net needs to offer at least that level of transparency.