ElevenLabs rolled out a new AI model that generates music — and claims it’s cleared for commercial use. The company, known for text-to-speech AI tools, is now stepping into AI-generated music.
The launch includes samples with synthetic voices rapping about rising from “Compton to the Cosmos,” echoing the style of artists like Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar. That’s raising eyebrows over the ethics of AI mimicking real-life experiences it never lived.
This isn’t ElevenLabs’ first challenge. Last year, the RIAA sued Suno and Udio, accusing them of training models on copyrighted songs. Those cases pushed the companies into talks with major labels about licensing. 
ElevenLabs says it’s playing it differently. It announced deals with Merlin Network and Kobalt Music Group — both major players representing big-name indie artists like Adele, Nirvana, Beck, and Childish Gambino. These deals aim to provide licensed music for AI training.
The details of the deals and whether artists’ music is already in the training data remain undisclosed.
“One features a synthetic voice rapping about how it
‘came up through the cracks with ambition in my pocket’ and
left its hometown, traveling from ‘Compton to the Cosmos.’ It’s
unsettling to hear a computer reflect the influence and language
of artists like Dr. Dre, N.W.A., and Kendrick Lamar, who actually
lived the experiences that this technology is attempting to emulate.”
For more on the new model and samples, check out ElevenLabs music page.
