ElevenLabs sets Music v2.5 default, restricts artist-referencing downloads

ElevenLabs made Music v2.5 the default generator for both prompted and reference-based tracks on September 11, with the older v2 model still available as a fallback. The company says the update produces richer melodies and more natural instrument timbres.

The rights terms change how people use it more than the audio claim does. Users own the tracks they generate on every tier, including free, and that ownership survives a cancellation or a downgrade, according to ElevenLabs' announcement. Free accounts get five lossless downloads a day. Pro accounts get 400 a month.

There's a catch. ElevenLabs blocks downloads of any track that references another artist's song, whether the reference comes from a text prompt or an uploaded audio file. The tool still generates that track. It won't leave the platform, though. The announcement also names a multi-year agreement with Universal Music Group, and the download block reads like the condition that agreement bought.

So the ownership promise has an edge to it. A free user can prompt a song 'in the style of' an artist signed to UMG and get audio back, but never be allowed to save it. ElevenLabs doesn't say whether the block applies to tracks made under v2, or how it decides a prompt 'references' a specific song closely enough to trigger it.