Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Kourtney Kardashian App the Latest Addition to Kollection of Whalerock Kardashian Kontent

The Kardashian-Jenner sisters all have their own apps now.

Whalerock Industries

Kim has an app. Khloe has an app. Kylie has an app. Kendall has an app. And now Kourtney Kardashian finally has an app of her own.

The app, which includes a mix of free and $3-a-month subscription content, is available for download from the iOS and Google Play app stores. The Kardashian clan’s apps are made by Whalerock Industries, a Santa Monica-based media company co-founded and led by Lloyd Braun, a former senior exec at ABC and Yahoo.

Braun’s thesis for launching all these apps is pretty straightforward. Celebrities, especially those with giant followings on social media, generate a lot of free stuff on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat that they don’t control. At the Code/Media conference earlier this year, Braun announced that Whalerock was launching a line of apps where celebrities could push out their own exclusive content, onstage next to his first enlisted star, adolescent-adored rapper/beatmaker Tyler, the Creator. Of course, Apple and Google still get a cut of the revenue the apps generate.

kourtney kardashian app

In an interview, Whalerock President Jeff Berman told Re/code that the apps create “an opportunity to connect the artist directly with the audience — completely unmediated.” Jen Garcia, the former People Magazine editor who joined Whalerock earlier this year to oversee the Kardashian apps, added that “these apps are providing so much more than what’s available elsewhere.”

“These are supposed to be a one-stop shop, but specifically about each sister. We’re bringing you premium video, livestreams and more,” Garcia said. “We are independent from E! (the TV network that airs Kardashian programs), but we work really well together. It really complements what they do on the reality show.”

The Kardashian-Jenner Whalerock apps offer livestreams, video, news updates and more. They began launching in mid-September, and Berman says they were immediately among the top-grossing entertainment products on iOS and Android. Currently, Kourtney’s app is the highest rated of all the Whalerock properties on the iOS App Store; she has a 4.5-star rating, whereas none of her sisters are higher than 2.5. Tyler, the Creator’s Golf Media app has a three-star rating.

As for why Kourtney’s app came later than those of her sisters, Garcia said that “She has had a lot going on in her life, she had a lot to juggle and we wanted to wait until it was the right moment for her.”

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel