Universal Music and ElevenLabs Are Building an AI Remix Platform, and Artists Get a Say

Key points

• Universal Music Group (UMG) announced on 10 September 2026 a multi-year licensing deal with ElevenLabs to build a new AI music creation platform.
• The platform lets users create remixes, mashups, and new versions of songs from UMG's catalog.
• Artists choose whether their music appears on the platform.
• ElevenLabs CEO Mati Staniszewski says artists and songwriters will be "fairly compensated" for any use of their work.
• UMG now holds AI music deals with Udio, Spotify, Nvidia, Klay, and ElevenLabs.

Universal Music Group, the label behind artists from Taylor Swift to Drake, is building a new AI music platform with ElevenLabs, a company specialising in AI-generated voice and music. The Verge broke the news Thursday.

The arrangement is a multi-year licensing agreement: UMG provides legal access to its song catalog, ElevenLabs supplies the AI technology that lets users do something creative with it.

What will users actually be able to do?

Fans get a licensed toolkit for remixing and reimagining existing tracks, all built from officially cleared recordings. That is a meaningful shift from the legally murky territory that has tripped up AI music tools before, as we reported when covering Suno's v6 launch on 9 September 2026.

Participation is opt-in for artists. A musician on UMG's roster can keep their work off the platform entirely. Given how hard working musicians have pushed back against unlicensed AI tools, as EDM producers made clear in late August, that clause carries real weight.

Who pays the artists?

Every use of a song runs through UMG's rights management system, so royalty tracking is built in from the start. Staniszewski said in the press release: "We'll enable artists and songwriters to create powerful new experiences for their fans, and ensure they are fairly compensated."

How much, and on what schedule, the press release does not say. That is the part worth watching.

The new platform will be separate from ElevenLabs' existing Music API and its ElevenMusic generator. A standalone product, not a feature bolt-on.

How does this fit the bigger picture?

UMG is moving fast. The label already has AI music agreements with Udio, Spotify, Nvidia, and Klay. Separately, Warner Music Group and BMG just saw AI music startup Suno release its first model trained on their licensed songs.

The pattern is plain: major labels have stopped fighting AI music companies in court and started signing contracts with them.

For the average music fan, licensed remix tools are likely coming to market within the next year or two. For working musicians, the opt-in clause matters more than almost anything else in this announcement.

One honest takeaway: If you're a musician signed to a major label, ask your manager exactly how opting in or out will work before any platform goes live. The compensation promise is real. The details are still vague.