Developers concerned with increasingly overcrowded marketplaces tend to be forced into one of two positions: either paying to use discovery platforms, or moving their apps on to rival, and often sparser populated, thirdparty app stores.

Appscribe, which is billing itself as the first games and app subscription service for Android - Gameloft launched a games-only service in the UK last week - looks to combine the two.

Instead of listing apps for download on a standard marketplace, consumers who sign up – tempted initially by a competition to win a Motorola Xoom, amongst other prizes – will be tasked with filling in a survey.

Appscribe then uses this data to push appropriate apps at them.

Lots of slots?

The fee charged – as-yet unannounced but dubbed as "roughly equivalent to purchasing one game per month" - also unlocks access to Appscribe's entire library, allowing them to downloads apps to fill up to 5 or 8 slots on their phone, depending on their subscription package.

Earnings for developers, so the firm says, will depends on how popular their app is with subscribers.

For example, if a user keeps an app in one of their slots for an entire month, the developer behind it will earn 30c. A five day run will see that drop to 5c.

Appscribe estimates that with a userbase of around 100,000 and with 50 apps in its catalogue, each app will have a one in ten chance of holding a slot for a month, earning a total of $3,000 every month.

Strength of subscription

It's an approach that, for developers to make money, relies on games having sustainability. Short and sharp puzzle games, for example, are unlikely to make beyond a few days with limited slots available per customer.

Nonetheless, Appscribe maintains there's a gap in the market for its subscription model.

"Developers participating in Appscribe will benefit from the increased exposure and its innovative revenue model," the firm said in a statement.

"Appscribe offers developers multiple ways to generate revenue from their Android apps. They can earn recurring monthly income as well as commissions for subscribers that sign up for Appscribe through free or trial versions of their apps."

Currently, Appscribe will only available to US developers (the service pays via PayPal) when it launches in September, though further details can be found on its website.

The firm is also on the look out for investors, who are advised to click here.

[source: Appscribe]