For a long time, the application of new technologies in music creation has always sparked discussions, especially regarding the use of sounds and copyright boundaries. On Wednesday, audio technology company ElevenLabs announced that it has reached formal collaborations with several renowned musicians, including Liza Minnelli and Art Garfunkel, to participate in the production of the new music album "The Eleven Album."
ElevenLabs focuses on developments in the audio field, and this project is being advanced by its newly established music division, Eleven Music. This is also the first time the company has engaged in a large-scale collaboration with music artists. The entire album includes multiple original works, covering various genres such as pop, rap, electronic dance, and rhythm and blues. Each participating musician contributes a song, exploring new forms of creation while maintaining their personal style.
Art Garfunkel said in a statement: "When my voice combines with this new way of creation, it's like opening a new door."
Eleven Music stated in an interview with CNET that all collaborations are based on voluntary, transparent, and authorized principles. "Artists have full control over how their works are used, and no content will be used or released without explicit consent. Building trust and long-term partnerships is the core of this project."
Liza Minnelli also expressed her approval of participating in the production of this album. She said she hopes to explore more possibilities of expression while maintaining control over her own works. "I'm more concerned about how to use new creative tools to serve expression itself, rather than replacing it. This project respects the voices, choices, and ownership of artists."
In addition to Minnelli and Garfunkel, "The Eleven Album" also includes works from Patrick Patrikios, Willonius, IAMSU!, Demitri Leiros, Emily Falvey, Sunsetto, Kondzilla, Chris Lyons, and Michael Feinstein, as well as tracks from two virtual music artists, Angelbaby and Kai. ElevenLabs stated that all revenue generated from the album on major streaming platforms will be fully returned to the participating artists.
From an industry perspective, the cooperation between music platforms and technology companies continues to deepen. Spotify announced in October last year a new partnership with major record companies such as Sony Music and Universal Music; Adobe also launched a new feature for creating soundtracks for video content. However, different platforms have different attitudes towards related content, for example, Bandcamp has explicitly restricted the use of such content in its policies to emphasize direct creative connections between people.
