Michael Bryan Launches New Managment & Media Company Southern Drift

Former Apple Music executive Michael Bryan announced the launch of Southern Drift, a management and media company based in Nashville.

Musician and storyteller Charlie Worsham, a two-time ACM and CMA award winner, is the company’s first management client. Southern Drift also has God’s Country Podcast, hosted by songwriters The Brothers Hunt (Reid and Dan Isbell), as its first media partner.

Bryan previously served as global head of country music for Apple Music. Joining him in his new venture is Taryn Anderson, who will serve as chief operating officer and general manager. She previously worked at Sandbox Entertainment as CFO and COO and was an account executive at FBMM, Inc., overseeing multiple management companies.

Jordon Isbell is also part of the Southern Drift team as vice president of marketing and executive producer of God’s Country Podcast. Isbell previously worked as senior marketing director at Virgin Music Group and oversaw the company’s Nashville roster. She is also founder of 270 Media & Co.

“I’ve spent my career watching how music moves, and it’s never been more fluid,” Bryan said in a statement. “Artists aren’t staying in one lane, and fans aren’t either. What pushed me to start Southern Drift was seeing the gap between how artists are building today and how the industry is still structured. We built Southern Drift to move with it, not control it.”

Southern Drift aims to build a diverse slate of artists and creators while expanding its footprint in the podcast and content part of the entertainment business. The company will also work to develop creative partnerships as well as brand and media opportunities to support its mission of long-term audience growth and artist development.

Bryan also launched a blog titled “The Drift,” and his first post is “The Music Industry Has a Revision Problem.” It can be found here. For more information about Southern Drift, visit SouthernDrift.com.