Fresh from announcing a licensing deal with Universal Music Group, ElevenLabs has unveiled the latest version of its ElevenMusic AI-music service… while stressing that UMG is not involved in the latter.
The updated model is called Music v2.5, with ElevenLabs promising its “best music model yet. The instruments sound real. Songs have more layers, more movement, and they hold together all the way through”.
ElevenLabs said that the biggest (or at least the most obvious) improvements are for “vocal-led and acoustic-heavy genres like R&B, soul, hip hop, rock, metal, orchestral and cinematic music”.
The new model is available within the ElevenMusic service as well as the ElevenCreative tools for marketers and media companies, and via ElevenLabs’ API for developers.
Now the clarification. “ElevenLabs recently announced a multi-year strategic agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG) spanning licensing and product development,” noted ElevenLabs in its blog post. “This deal is separate from Music 2.5.”
ElevenMusic launched in August 2025 accompanied by deals with Kobalt and Merlin that committed to “parity” between the royalties paid out to publishing and recording licensors.
ElevenLabs’ UMG deal will see it build a separate, new AI-music platform focused on “remixes and mashups, new track interpretations, and personalised vocal experiences”. They are also building tools for artists together.