Music creation app SoundCloud has selected the U.S. arm of WPP’s The Goat Agency as its influencer AOR, following a competitive pitch process.The partnership was finalized at the beginning of May and will “go live” with its first wave of influencer marketing in June, The Goat Agency’s U.S. head of account management Gregg Tobin said. “The goal is to help SoundCloud build its relevance and cultural authority – we all know SoundCloud, but we’re making sure people know why to use it, right, why it's culturally relevant and why it's an integral part of using culture and music discovery,” Tobin explained.The Goat Agency will implement a storytelling approach to influencer-led content and build an “ambassador network of creators and artists to drive long-term brand advocacy,” according to an agency statement. The firm will also work with music creators to promote SoundCloud’s ArtistPro product.“A lot of artists have gotten their start on SoundCloud. Billie Eilish got famous from releasing ‘Ocean Eyes’ on SoundCloud, and it got a ton of downloads and then she blew up,” Madeleine Sabo, marketing manager at Goat Agency, explained. “It’s a space for artists to grow.”Budget information was not disclosed.SoundCloud previously managed most of its influencer marketing in-house. The music platform began searching for an influencer AOR in late 2025, according to an agency announcement.In the past, The Goat Agency has worked with music clients including Amazon Music, Amazon Prime Video – specifically promoting Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast of the Academy of Country Music Awards, Tobin said.“This will be for music curators: DJs, hip hop artists and indie artists, people left-of-center of the cultural forefront,” Tobin said of The Goat Agency’s upcoming work with SoundCloud. “It’s going to look like a real person did it. It’s not going to look like a TV commercial – it’s thumb-stopping content.”SoundCloud was founded in 2007 for music creators and artists to “grow their careers by providing them with the most advanced tools, services and resources,” according to a brand statement. The platform currently has over 500 million tracks from 40 million artists in 193 countries.The Goat Agency was founded in 2015 and hired Open Influence and Captiv8 vet Bryce Adams as its U.S. influencer lead in March. The firm currently staffs 750 employees across 41 markets, with recent clients including Heineken, Mars Wrigley and Calvin Klein.WPP acquired The Goat Agency in 2023. WPP’s like-for-like revenue declined 4% in Q1, and 6.6% overall, to just over £3 billion ($3.75 billion). “When establishing cultural relevance, influencers are incredibly important,” Tobin explained. “An ad or post coming from the brand is less powerful because they’re talking about themselves. But when you have a third-part endorsement from an influencer talking about why SoundCloud is essential to their music creation and discovery, that has more trust and appeal.”This story first appeared on PRWeek U.S.