UMG's first AI deal with ElevenLabs is a multi-year strategic agreement that starts with a fan platform for remixing, mashing up, and reinterpreting tracks from participating artists — artists choose whether to take part, and the companies say they'll jointly build AI audio tools for creators over time.
2026-09-10 · by Moe Ameen
Published 2026-09-10 · Updated
Short answer
Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs announced a multi-year agreement on September 10, 2026, starting with a licensed AI music platform where fans can remix, mash up and reinterpret tracks from participating artists and make personalized vocal experiences. Artists choose whether to take part and share in the value. It is ElevenLabs' first deal with a major label. No launch date or price was given.
Key takeaways
On September 10, 2026, Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs announced a multi-year strategic agreement, beginning with a new licensed AI music creation platform. It is ElevenLabs' first agreement with a major record label. The companies said the platform will let fans co-create with music from participating artists — building remixes and mashups, new track interpretations, and personalized vocal experiences — with artists and songwriters choosing whether to take part and sharing in the value created.
Beyond the fan platform, the two said they will jointly develop AI audio products for artists and songwriters over time. UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge framed responsible AI as a way to deepen artist-fan engagement and unlock new revenue; ElevenLabs co-founder Mati Staniszewski said the aim is powerful new fan experiences with fair compensation for creators. Both framed the deal around licensed music and fair pay for artists and songwriters.
For context on ElevenLabs: best known for AI voice, it launched Eleven Music in August 2025, a text-to-music generator it says was made in collaboration with labels, publishers, and artists and is cleared for nearly all commercial uses. It raised a $500 million Series D earlier in 2026 at a reported valuation around $11 billion. The companies say the new platform will run separately from ElevenLabs' existing music offerings, which include a Music API for developers and the ElevenMusic creation app.
No launch date or pricing was disclosed; the platform was described as in development. Treat the specific product mechanics as forward-looking until it ships, and check the companies' official announcements before relying on any detail.
The practical move the day this lands is not to wait for the platform — it is to fix the half that was always the bottleneck. Whatever audio you end up with, whether a licensed remix from a platform like this, a track from ElevenLabs' own Eleven Music, or a bed from any generator, the song is one ingredient. The finished, captioned, on-brand video that carries it across every feed is the work, and that is what Kompozy does. Drop the track under a Listicle Video, a Naturalistic Video, a Clipped Short cut from your own long footage, or a Persona Frames avatar composite; Kompozy burns in word-synced captions, reframes to 9:16, 1:1, and 16:9, and holds the copy to one voice through the Persona Brief.
From there it fans the same idea into the rest of a content week — a carousel, quote graphics, photo posts, a blog, and a newsletter — and Autopilot schedules the batch across the eight social platforms plus blog and email behind a per-post review gate. As licensed AI music makes the soundtrack safer to use, the durable edge shifts to whoever can turn that audio into distinct, published content fastest across every channel. Kompozy is that layer; a music platform like this one is just another input feeding it.
A listicle video from Kompozy, the kind of captioned short a soundtrack sits under. No music from the UMG and ElevenLabs platform is in it.
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On September 10, 2026 they announced a multi-year strategic agreement, beginning with a new licensed AI music creation platform where fans can remix and mash up tracks from participating artists, create new interpretations, and make personalized vocal experiences. It is ElevenLabs’ first deal with a major label, and artists choose whether to participate.
Neither company disclosed a launch date or pricing at announcement; the platform was described as in development. Treat specific features as forward-looking until it ships, and check the official announcements for updates.
The platform is aimed at fan co-creation with participating artists, not a general commercial-license music tool, and terms were not detailed. ElevenLabs’ separate Eleven Music product is marketed as cleared for nearly all commercial uses. Verify the rights for your specific use before publishing.
The companies say the new platform will be offered separately from ElevenLabs’ existing music offerings, which include a Music API for developers and the ElevenMusic app for making original songs. The fan platform is built around licensed tracks from participating artists, and it is ElevenLabs’ first agreement with a major label.
We checked every figure, date and quote on this page against the sources listed below on 2026-10-23, and removed or rewrote claims we could not confirm. Kompozy plan and format details come from kompozy.io/pricing.
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