Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs join forces on new AI music platform
Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs are developing a licensed AI music platform allowing fans to create remixes, mashups and new interpretations.
Universal Music Group (UMG) is taking another major step into AI music, announcing a multi-year partnership with AI audio company ElevenLabs to develop a new licensed AI music creation platform.
The platform will allow fans to use music from participating UMG artists to create remixes, mashups and new interpretations of existing tracks.
The partnership, announced on September 10, 2026, combines UMG’s extensive music catalogue with ElevenLabs’ AI audio technology. The companies say the collaboration will also explore new AI-powered products and experiences for artists, songwriters and fans.
A new approach to AI music
Rather than allowing AI tools to use music without permission, UMG and ElevenLabs are building the new platform around licensed music.
Artists will be able to opt in to having their music included, giving participating artists and rights holders a role in deciding how their work can be used.
For fans, the idea is to make it possible to interact with familiar songs in ways that go beyond simply listening.
Users could potentially take an existing track and create a new version, mash it together with another piece of music, or experiment with different interpretations, all within a framework where the underlying music has been licensed for these uses.
The companies have not yet announced a launch date or provided full details of how the platform will work.
ElevenLabs is moving further into music
ElevenLabs is perhaps best known for its AI voice technology, but the company has increasingly expanded into music generation.
Its Eleven Music platform is designed to generate music from prompts, with the company describing the technology as having been built in partnership with artists, labels and publishers. ElevenLabs has also continued developing its music models, with Music v2.5 launching in September 2026.
The new UMG agreement represents a different application of that technology.
Instead of focusing solely on generating entirely new songs, the upcoming platform is intended to let fans work with licensed recordings from established artists.
That distinction could become increasingly important as the music industry looks for ways to incorporate generative AI while protecting artists and copyright holders.
Artists will choose whether to participate
One of the key details of the announcement is that UMG artists will have the option to opt in.
That means the platform will not automatically make the entire UMG catalogue available for AI manipulation.
The companies say the collaboration is intended to create new opportunities for artists and fans while ensuring that artists and rights holders can participate on agreed terms. ElevenLabs CEO Mati Staniszewski has also highlighted compensation for artists as part of the company’s approach to working with the music industry.
For artists, this could eventually create another way to engage fans with their music, particularly as listeners become increasingly interested in creating their own versions of songs.
UMG’s changing relationship with AI
The announcement is another sign that UMG’s position on AI is becoming more nuanced.
The company has been involved in legal disputes with AI music companies over the use of copyrighted recordings, while simultaneously entering licensing agreements designed to establish authorised ways for AI companies to work with music.
UMG has also announced AI-related collaborations with companies including Spotify, Udio, NVIDIA and Stability AI. Its recent partnership with Spotify, for example, involves licensed fan-made covers and remixes.
The strategy appears to be focused on distinguishing between unlicensed use of copyrighted music and AI products built around agreements with artists and rights holders.
The ElevenLabs partnership fits directly into that developing model.
Why fan-made remixes could be significant
Fan-created remixes aren’t new. Musicians and listeners have been reworking songs for decades, from unofficial remixes and bootlegs to mashups and covers.
AI could make the process much more accessible.
Instead of needing specialist production software and technical skills, fans could potentially use AI tools to transform parts of a song or experiment with entirely new arrangements.
For artists, that could offer another form of fan engagement. A listener doesn’t simply consume a song, they can interact with it and create something of their own.
There are also obvious questions around ownership, royalties and attribution.
Who owns an AI-generated remix? How should the original artist be credited? How should revenue be divided if a fan-created version becomes popular?
The UMG and ElevenLabs platform could provide an opportunity to establish answers to some of those questions within a licensed environment.
A licensed alternative to the AI music free-for-all
The announcement comes at a particularly significant moment for AI-generated music.
Streaming platforms are dealing with enormous volumes of AI-generated tracks, alongside concerns about fraudulent streams, copyright infringement and music being uploaded at a scale that can make it difficult for legitimate artists to compete for attention.
The Financial Times recently reported that the music industry is intensifying efforts to combat AI-related streaming fraud, with industry groups and major music companies working on measures including rights verification and greater scrutiny of uploads.
Against that backdrop, a platform that allows AI interaction with music from licensed catalogues and with artist participation represents a very different proposition from simply generating and uploading unlimited AI tracks.
What happens next?
For now, the details of UMG and ElevenLabs’ platform remain limited.
The companies have confirmed the concept and licensing partnership, but have not yet revealed a launch date, pricing or the full list of participating artists and catalogues.
What we do know is that the project will focus on fan creativity, including remixes, mashups and new interpretations, while the wider partnership will explore additional AI-powered products for artists and songwriters.
For UMG, it represents another step toward a music industry where AI is not simply something to fight or regulate, but a technology that can be incorporated into licensed music experiences.
And for fans, it could eventually mean a new way to interact with the songs they love.
AI music is changing fast, and Universal Music’s partnership with ElevenLabs suggests that the next stage may be less about replacing the original music and more about giving fans new ways to create with it.