James Shin Has Asset Appreciation

Long before James Shin became executive vice-president of film and television for SB Projects, he was a piano and violin prodigy who toured with orchestras and performed alongside Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma.

"Prodigy. I hate that word," says Shin, who instead viewed himself as a young working musician playing advanced pieces at a high level. Growing up, he often skipped out on practice early to go to the movies. "I got obsessed with movies and that sort of trickled into TV. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a big deal for me."

Shin's musical abilities earned him full scholarships at boarding school (Phillips Andover) and then Princeton. "College was a period when I was burnt out by classical music," he recalls. Visiting his mom in Los Angeles, Shin landed a life-changing internship with producer Mike Medavoy. "I loved it. I'm always up for a challenge and decided to go full force into the entertainment industry."

More internships followed. After graduation, Shin headed to New York and took a job in the William Morris mailroom. When the agency merged with Endeavor, he moved to Los Angeles, determined to work on productions.

"I realized I needed to leverage what I knew better than other people: music. I landed in a music-supervision role at Sony Pictures Television, working on anything that Sony produced — from Breaking Bad to Community to Masters of Sex."

He built relationships with television executives, producers and post-production professionals while strengthening his ties to the music world.

A happenstance meeting with Tom Rothman, who'd recently relaunched TriStar Pictures, led to Shin becoming one of the new entity's first employees. "He took a leap of faith," says Shin of his hiring, noting he relied on the work ethic he developed in childhood to hone his skills as a development executive. "I became the guy at the studio with relationships in the music game."

In 2016, Shin joined music executive and manager Scooter Braun's SB Projects, which currently has several shows in production, including the FXX comedy Dave, now in its third season, and Neon, an upcoming Netflix series from bestselling author and writer-producer Shea Serrano (Primo).

"I'm tremendously excited about Neon. It's set in the world of reggaeton music," Shin says. Shot in Puerto Rico and set in Miami, Neon reflects Shin's own life in that it's aspirational, embraces diversity and involves music.

"I'm Korean American and think aligning with the best talent — something I really harp on in building our shows and slate — naturally feeds through. We're seeing such an upsurge of talent that was previously unrecognized. If I can be a beacon for helping people become seen or recognized, that's a great bonus."

This article originally appeared in emmy magazine issue #7, 2023, under the title, "Asset Appreciation."