Liza Minnelli, Art Garfunkel Among Artists Who ‘Co-Created’ Songs With AI Tech From ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs, an artificial intelligence audio research firm, has unveiled "The Eleven Album," a pioneering collection of songs created in collaboration with human artists using its AI music generation technology. The project, which the company describes as an unprecedented partnership, features contributions from legendary performers like Liza Minnelli and Art Garfunkel, who utilized the AI as a creative tool to co-produce original tracks. The album is now available for streaming on the company's website and on Spotify, representing a significant experiment in blending human artistry with machine intelligence.

The company's Eleven Music system is designed to generate complete musical compositions from simple text prompts, aiming to help artists overcome creative blocks and speed up their workflow. According to ElevenLabs, the technology provides granular control, allowing musicians to edit lyrics, timing, and instrumentation, and even download up to six studio-quality audio stems for further production. This approach, the firm asserts, enables artists to expand their creative range while retaining full authorship and commercial rights to their work. All participating artists, including Patrick Patrikios, IAMSU!, and Michael Feinstein, released their tracks through their own channels, ensuring they receive all associated streaming revenue—a model ElevenLabs highlights as part of its commitment to fair compensation.

The album spans a diverse range of genres, from rap and pop to R&B and EDM. Liza Minnelli, the 79-year-old entertainment icon known for her powerhouse performances in films like "Cabaret," contributed an EDM track titled "Kids, Wait Until You Hear This," which features an AI recreation of her voice. In a statement, Minnelli emphasized the project's respect for artistic ownership, noting, "I grew up watching my parents create wonderful dreams that were owned by other people. ElevenLabs makes it possible for anyone to be a creator and owner. That matters." Similarly, Art Garfunkel—the 84-year-old singer whose harmonious partnership with Paul Simon defined the folk-rock era—offered a spoken-word piece called "Authorship," reflecting on the evolution of music technology while affirming that "the human remains at the center."

Both Minnelli and Garfunkel are part of ElevenLabs' Iconic Voice Marketplace, a platform that allows brands to license AI versions of celebrity voices for campaigns. This initiative builds on earlier deals with music rights companies Kobalt and Merlin, aimed at integrating artists into the development of AI revenue models. Industry analysts note that such partnerships are becoming crucial as the music business grapples with the ethical and economic implications of generative AI, seeking frameworks that protect creator rights while fostering innovation.

ElevenLabs CEO Mati Staniszewski framed the album as a major milestone, bringing together artists with over a billion collective streams and multiple Grammy Awards. The company's momentum is further evidenced by a recent partnership with actor Matthew McConaughey, who also invested in the firm, and a $100 million employee tender offer that valued ElevenLabs at $6.6 billion—double its valuation from early 2025. As Staniszewski stated, the project explores what becomes possible "when AI amplifies human creativity," signaling a new chapter in the ongoing dialogue between technology and artistic expression.