ElevenLabs launches AI music generator with full commercial rights

ElevenLabs has launched an AI music generator that offers full commercial rights to users, allowing generated music to be used in YouTube videos, movies, and advertising without licensing restrictions. The move positions the AI voice company to expand beyond its core offering into the less-crowded generative music space, where commercial usage rights could provide a significant competitive advantage.

What you should know: The tool operates through simple text prompts, similar to chatbots or image generators, where users can request specific musical styles and themes.

• Users can input prompts like “create an early 2000s pop song with lyrics about a romantic date” to generate custom tracks.
• ElevenLabs has shared examples including slow indie music, Latin reggaeton, and hip-hop with clear vocals to demonstrate the generator’s range.
• The tool is completely free to use commercially, distinguishing it from competitors that may have licensing restrictions.

Strategic partnerships: ElevenLabs collaborated with digital publishing platforms to ensure proper artist compensation and legal compliance.

• The company partnered with Merlkin Network and Kobalt Music Group, both platforms that support smaller artists.
• “Our clients benefit directly from this agreement in several key ways: it opens a new revenue stream in a growing market, includes revenue sharing so they participate in the upside, provides strong safeguards against infringement and misuse, and offers favorable terms comparable to other publishing and recording rightsholders,” a Kobalt representative told TechCrunch.

Built-in safeguards: The platform includes multiple protective measures to prevent misuse and copyright infringement.

• The model blocks attempts to create songs using specific artists’ names or lyrics from existing albums.
• Content filters prevent the generation of music with violent or hateful lyrics.
• These safeguards address potential legal challenges that have plagued other generative AI music tools.

Competitive landscape: ElevenLabs enters a relatively unexplored market with fewer established competitors than other AI sectors.

• Unlike the crowded chatbot, image, and video generation spaces, AI music generation has limited competition.
• ElevenLabs already operates in the specialized niche of AI voice recreation, giving it relevant technical expertise.
• The commercial rights offering could provide a decisive advantage in attracting content creators and businesses.

Why this matters: The launch represents a strategic expansion for ElevenLabs while addressing a key barrier to AI music adoption—commercial licensing uncertainty that has limited widespread business use of generated audio content.