Shaun C. Clark

Clark represents studios, entrepreneurs, independent producers, new media enterprises, ad agencies and other entities as they develop, finance, produce, distribute and otherwise exploit entertainment and branded content.

Or, as he puts it, “I get to work at the convergence of branding, content, celebrity and tech, and those are areas that are changing dramatically from year to year. That makes my job fun and exciting.”

Clients include Spotify, for which he helped negotiate more than 150 deals involving figures ranging from Joe Rogan to J.K. Rowling.

Last year, he represented Wave, which creates live virtual concerts using motion-capture technology, in negotiations for its production of a virtual concert by The Weeknd over TikTok.

For another major deal, Clark represented a team of investors and executives in negotiations with representatives of Selena Gomez to create and launch a cosmetics company under her name, called Rare Beauty. The final agreement comprised the legal and business terms of the singer’s role, her promotional obligations, the right to use her name and likeness and her share in the equity of the company.

Arrangements in which celebrities are involved in the management and ownership of new businesses bearing their imprint have become more common in recent years, Clark said. “It’s a much more complicated negotiation to represent the company or a celebrity — and I do both — in connection with one of these transactions where they’re getting equity in lieu of what would customarily be a fee or … royalties,” he said.

Clark began his career a quarter-century ago representing banks and studios in financing and producing films, he said. From there, he moved into handling deals involving reality television. As those productions spawned celebrities and brands, he expanded his practice to represent ad agencies and new brands in negotiations with traditional film and TV companies. “We had to create some new business models in order to make it work,” he said.

He also takes on some traditional matters.

In July, he worked with partner Linda Giunta Michaelson in representing Lions Gate Entertainment in its acquisition of much of Spyglass Media Group’s feature film library, which once belonged to the Weinstein Co.

“I don’t like doing the same thing over and over,” Clark said. “I feel very fortunate to have the practice I have. I didn’t sign up for dull and boring, and I certainly didn’t get it.”

— Don DeBenedictis