Rock Software: 2009 - 2011 The company launched as Rock Software in 2009 by brothers John and Sam Shahidi in
Southern California. They started as a mobile gaming company focused on
iOS and
Android apps, with its first commercial release being RunPee, an app which gives users the best time to use the restroom during a movie. The app was featured on
The Today Show. Through a mutual friend on the
Cincinnati Bengals, the Shahidi brothers met star
wide receiver Chad Ochocinco which led to a partnership and creation of two apps, the Chad Ochocinco Experience and MadChad.
RockLive: 2011 - 2013 During this time the company continued to grow and rebranded as RockLive. They expanded their focus on mobile gaming apps and created apps for celebrities and athletes including
Mike Tyson,
Usain Bolt, and
Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2011, the company launched a mobile game called ''
Mike Tyson's Main Event''. Across their various platforms, RockLive saw more than 3 million active users.
Shots App: 2013 - 2017 In 2013 the company began moving away from mobile games and working on a new social media app. With a large investment from
Justin Bieber earlier that year, they released the Shots app on November 12, 2013. The app was a selfie picture sharing app with a focus on anti-bullying. Other investors include
Floyd Mayweather,
King Bach,
Marlon Wayans,
Omar Epps,
Shervin Pishevar,
Ben Parr, WI Harper,
Upfront Ventures and DCM Ventures. This led to the move of the company headquarters to
San Francisco. After Twitter CEO Anthony Noto accidentally tweeted a message about an acquisition for Twitter, a source close to the company confirmed that Twitter was looking to acquire Shots for $150 million. By 2015 the Shots app had over 7 million active users. During this time, the company began partnering with digital content creators including
Rudy Mancuso to explore delivering original content to its users. This led to the development of the Awkward Puppets series. In 2017, the Shots mobile app was removed from the
App Store as the company shifted focus towards producing original content for
YouTube and other social platforms.
Shots Studios: 2013 - 2020 The Shots app launched Shots Studios and became a full-time digital studio in 2016. After the companies transition to digital entertainment, the Shots app was removed from the
App Store (iOS) in 2016. Shots Studios channels have tens of millions of followers combined, tapping into an increasingly digital world with online comedy, music, and other video content. The company has landed partnerships with companies such as
Netflix,
Google, and many
Fortune 500 brands for branded content. In addition to its core YouTube channels, Shots Studios has since launched a music division, a kid-friendly "
edutainment" channel, an apparel line, and beauty products. Shots Studios creators have partnered with companies such as
Google,
Target,
Tarte Cosmetics,
AXE,
EA Sports,
Budweiser,
COVERGIRL, and many others to produce branded content. In October 2015, Shots Studios launched
Awkward Puppets, an original series created by
Rudy Mancuso, thus launching the recently re-branded company's first foray into content production. In 2016, Shots Studios partnered with Mike Tyson to launch a YouTube channel for the boxer to share sketch comedy on. The company began to manage other creators, assembling a roster of Rudy Mancuso, Lele Pons, Anwar Jibawi, Hannah Stocking and Jake Paul, in order to produce content on their own YouTube channels. Shots Studios previously partnered and collaborated with other entertainers such as
Alesso,
Anitta,
Marlon Wayans,
Mike Tyson,
Inanna Sarkis, and
Loren Gray. In July 2017, Shots Studios signed Brazilian megastar
Anitta. On October 7, 2017, Mancuso released his first single titled “Black & White” with Poo Bear. On November 19, 2017, Anitta released "
Downtown," a Spanish-language collaboration with Colombian singer
J Balvin. The song was nominated for "Best Urban Song" at the
Latin GRAMMYs. Shots Studios also produced music videos for Grammy Award nominated Swedish producer Alesso, including the visuals for 2017's “
Is That For Me” with Brazilian star Anitta, 2018's Mancuso-directed “
Remedy” with
Conor Maynard, and 2019's “
Sad Song” with
Tini. In September 2017, Alesso and American artist
Hailee Steinfeld released "
Let Me Go" featuring
Florida Georgia Line and
Watt. The record was certified Platinum and amassed over 1 billion streams across streaming platforms. In July 2018,
Variety announced that Shots Studios partnered with
Netflix to produce a six-episode
docuseries that followed the life of Brazilian pop star
Anitta. The series, titled
Vai Anitta, was exclusively released on Netflix on November 16, 2018. In March 2018, Billboard named Shots Studios one of Dance music's "Internationalists," a company that is "leading dance music's global expansion." John and Sam Shahidi were named to Billboard's Latin Power Players list for their and their artists' success in the Spanish-speaking market in November 2018. In late November 2018, Alesso released "Tilted Towers," a collaborative project with
Fortnite streamer and YouTuber
Ninja, which debuted live on the gamer's Twitch stream. The song appeared on Ninja's first music endeavor, a compilation project titled "
Ninjawerks (Vol. 1). In August 2018, Shots Studios Music was formed in partnership with
Universal Music Group and Lele Pons released her first solo single, “
Celoso.” Pons would perform the record at the
Latin American Music Awards after it was certified 3× Platinum. On March 13, 2019,
Tubefilter announced that Shots Studios would join a handful of other creative studios and content creators to produce new original programming for
Facebook Watch. Shots Studios’ slate of programs was headlined by projects from Rudy Mancuso,
Juanpa Zurita and Lele Pons. On June 12, 2019, Shots Studios released a series of Mancuso-written and directed shorts titled "Stories From Our Future" in collaboration with Netflix's
Emmy Award winning series
Black Mirror. On August 14, 2020, it was announced that social media superstar
Jake Paul signed with Shots Studios. On April 22, 2020,
Variety announced Shots Studios’ YouTube Original docuseries titled
The Secret Life of Lele Pons. The first episode of the five-part docuseries premiered on May 19, 2020, on Lele Pons’ YouTube channel. On August 24,
Tubefilter announced that Shots Studios had entered a new partnership with
NRG Esports for content production, social strategy, and apparel. ==References==