AI audio firm ElevenLabs has launched Eleven Music, which lets businesses and individuals generate studio-caliber music using natural language prompts. Users can generate tracks in any genre or style, even adding vocals in different languages. The Eleven Music model was developed in partnership with music licensing firm Merlin and independent publisher Kobalt. Artists and songwriters from the two groups will participate in the development of Eleven Music Pro, a subsequent model planned for release in the coming months. The company says it built-in guardrails to protect rightsholders.

With the launch of Eleven Music, “ElevenLabs — best known for its voice generation software — enters a fraught sphere where major music labels have already sued two music-generation startups, Suno and Udio, for their alleged use of copyrighted works to train their AI,” writes The Wall Street Journal, adding that “the startup’s AI model generates a tune within minutes, complete with vocals and instrumentals.”

The deals with Merlin and Kobalt give the Eleven Music model’s AI-created music “legal cover for broad commercial use,” WSJ says, noting that ElevenLabs’ CEO Mati Staniszewski said he hopes to strike additional deals with major labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group and Warner Music Group.

A representative from Kobalt says “artists have to voluntarily opt-in for their music to be licensed for AI use,” according to TechCrunch.

“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,” the representative from Kobalt told TechCrunch.

“As an AI audio company, expanding into music was a natural progression,” Staniszewski said in an announcement. “We’ve heard massive demand from our enterprise partners and users for a music model like this and we took our time to ship one that we’re certain they’ll love. We’re proud to do so in collaboration with music industry partners who recognize the vast benefits and possibilities of AI innovation in music.”

A YouTube video demonstrates Eleven Music’s capabilities, and a blog post provides examples of prompts and the resulting music.

Use cases such as “jingles and stock music that would’ve required expensive and complicated licensing can be achieved at a fraction of the cost with AI,” writes WSJ. So far, ElevenLabs “has given 20 customers access to its AI-music model who’ve used it for film, TV and gaming, as well as fitness and meditation apps, and as individual creators.”