FirstLook App Launches as Personalized Celebrity Magazine With Real-Time Photos of Over 25,000 Celebrities, From Taylor Swift to Taylor Lautner and From 5 Seconds of Summer to Fifth Harmony
– Entertainment and Tech Veterans Join Forces to Deliver First-of-Its
Kind App Packaging Professionally-Shot Wire Photography from World’s
Top Entertainment and Red Carpet Photographers –
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Imagine real-time photos of your favorite celebrities taken by the
world’s top entertainment photographers at red carpets, concerts,
newsworthy events, on set and inside exclusive parties, from everywhere
in the world and delivered directly to your phone. The technology now
exists and it’s shaking up the way people consume celebrity content.
FirstLook,
founded by long-tenured digital entrepreneur Justin Kahn and renowned
entertainment photographer Steve Granitz, delivers professionally-shot
photos of over 25,000 celebrities, musicians, athletes, innovators and
newsmakers from the top celebrity photo agencies including Getty Images,
WireImage, AP Invision and others, directly to users’ photo feeds as
they’re taken. FirstLook also has contracted relationships for over 25
million archival celebrity images.
“Until now, consumers had access to the one or two
professionally-snapped event photos that entertainment media outlets
decided to run of a given celebrity,” said Kahn, FirstLook’s CEO. “Now,
through the FirstLook app, if users want to see every photo of their
favorite actor from a red carpet that’s happening right now, anywhere in
the world, they’ll get a notification and experience them in real time
through their customizable FirstLook celeb photo feed.”
In addition to viewing real time photos of their favorite celebrities,
users can share any image – current or archival – through their own
social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The
free app highlights everything going on in entertainment, from a “Top
Celebs to Follow” Discovery engine, an Events listing
featuring celeb images taken at major events and noteworthy happenings
worldwide, and a Flashback section, highlighting interesting
archival images from top celebs over the years. FirstLook also boasts a Featured
section, spotlighting professionally captured and captioned
#HappyBirthday, #HunkoftheDay and #BAEoftheDay celebrity photos.
“Through our partnerships with the top photo agencies in the world,
we’re giving consumers direct access to the photos that media outlets
exclusively had access to up to this point, while making the experience
interactive, user friendly and sharable,” said Granitz, FirstLook’s
President and also one of the most published entertainment photographers
of the past 30 years. “FirstLook is a digital celeb magazine on
steroids!”
The company is backed by investor and board member, David Bohnett,
founder of Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Baroda Ventures, which
has successfully invested in numerous companies, including LowerMyBills,
Stamps.com, MediaVast, Xdrive, and NetZero. Bohnett, who founded
GeoCities, which he sold to Yahoo! in 1999, invests in consumer web,
SaaS, mobile and digital media services. Current
Baroda investments include DogVacay, HelloTech, Healthvana, Chromatik,
SteelHouse, Retention Science, SurfAir and Blade.
Both Kahn and Granitz also co-founded WireImage in 1999 with other
partners and then sold the company to Getty in 2007.
“With 237 million social media users in the United States alone and over
70% of social media traffic being celebrity-driven, we couldn’t be more
ideally positioned,” added Kahn. “We’re shocked this type of offering
hasn’t already been created, but we’re more than happy to fill the void.
With the wide breadth of instantaneous, behind-the-scenes celeb content
that we’re exclusively providing through FirstLook, we know we’re on to
something huge.”
FirstLook is available for free at the iTunes app store.
ABOUT THE FOUNDERS
Justin Kahn is a serial entrepreneur who has launched several
startups including iEntertainment, a professional networking site for
filmmakers, and InfoPost, an eBay-style website for all things digital
which aided software self-publishers, among others. In 2000, recognizing
the popularity of celebrity photographs being licensed through InfoPost,
Kahn and team co-founded WireImage and its parent company MediaVast, a
digital photo agency and wire service covering high-profile
entertainment, celebrities, fashion, music, and sports events which soon
grew into the world’s largest entertainment photo/video archive. Kahn
worked in various capacities at WireImage, ultimately serving as VP of
West Coast Operations and launching and helming its video division
before the company was sold to Getty Images in 2007.
Steve Granitz co-founded WireImage, Inc. and served as its
President of West Coast Operations. He oversaw the recruitment of
photographers on the West Coast and has covered high-profile
entertainment events and personalities for the past 30 years. His photos
have appeared in numerous publications, including People, Newsweek,
Time, US Magazine, Rolling Stone, and countless others. He has shot
several million images during his career which has included
photographing 25 Academy Award ceremonies and working with major
networks providing unit photography services.
Contacts
Fifteen Minutes Public Relations
Brandon Shaw, 323-556-9700
Brandon@FifteenMinutes.com
