Skip to content

Analytics cookies

We use Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to count visits and see which pages are useful. If you accept, Google Analytics may set cookies to recognise your return visits. If you decline, it sets no cookies, but Google still receives a cookieless signal for each page you view. We don’t send Google your name, email address or registration details, and you can change your choice at any time under “Cookie settings” at the bottom of the page. Privacy

Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs announce opt-in AI music platform licensing deal

Sep 10, 2026 · Gathered automatically from public sources. Not reviewed by a person.

What happened: On 2026-09-10 Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs announced a multi-year licensing and product agreement to build a fan-facing AI music platform for licensed remixes, mashups, new track interpretations and 'personalized vocal experiences' — voice-generation features built on ElevenLabs' voice-cloning stack. It is ElevenLabs' first major-label deal and, unlike the Suno/Udio label deals, emerged without prior litigation. Artist and songwriter participation is opt-in, with promised per-use tracking and compensation; no launch date, pricing, or participating-artist list has been disclosed, and the compensation mechanism is unspecified.

Why it matters to creators: The opt-in structure is the most consent-forward major-label AI template so far — a contrast with opt-out regimes and with deals negotiated under litigation pressure. But the framework only covers UMG-represented artists; independent musicians and session performers (who are separately suing over uncompensated licensed performances) are not included, and the 'personalized vocal experiences' feature sits in contested right-of-publicity territory.

Not yet known: Whether the opt-in pool attracts enough artists to make the platform viable, what the actual royalty terms are, and how EU AI Act disclosure rules will apply to the voice features at launch.

Sources