ElevenLabs rolled out v2.5 on Friday, emphasizing in the corresponding announcement that the model “is now the default for prompted and reference generation in ElevenMusic.”

Unsurprisingly, the company also took the opportunity to tout the offering as its best yet – including by citing the results of a blind test wherein v2.5 is said to have produced the “preferred take” over v2 the majority of the time when responding to the same prompt.

(v2.5 tracks “sound more layered and complex, with improved, more natural-sounding instruments,” the developer noted as well.)

Nevertheless, the v2.5 announcement is telling on multiple levels. In underscoring that its Universal Music “deal is separate from Music 2.5,” ElevenLabs confirmed what previously appeared to be the case: Far from handing over its catalog for open-ended experimentation, UMG is leaning in on a walled garden product.

Judging by the steps Udio’s taking with regard to its upcoming UMG- and Warner Music-endorsed model, those walls will probably be quite tall. How many closed AI platforms can the market support at once? Is Spotify, currently prepping its remix and mashup tool in partnership with UMG and others, positioned to top the competition thanks to its massive existing userbase?

And will Universal Music and Sony Music ever put their walled garden advocacy to rest in favor of inking deals with Warner Music-, BMG-, and Believe-partnered Suno?

ElevenLabs, which licensed the likes of Merlin and Kobalt to build its general-prompt models, is taking full advantage of having abstained from engaging in a training free-for-all.

As lamented by a number of Suno subscribers, last week’s launch of v6 ushered in the abrupt retirement of all prior models; that, Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl reiterated in more words, was a key element of the underlying lawsuit-ending pact.

On the other hand, ElevenMusic v2 “isn’t going anywhere,” and users who prefer the model can continue accessing it for the foreseeable future, the appropriate company indicated.

ElevenMusic, for its part, offers “400 lossless downloads per month” via Pro and maintains that customers will retain ownership after their subscriptions end.

Importantly, this applies to general prompt-based outputs – not remixes or tracks otherwise “built on another artist’s song,” which are subject to a clear-cut no-download policy.

Nevertheless, the relevant platforms’ present differences (besides Suno’s seemingly quick-approaching artist-specific features) are worth keeping in mind given the AI arena’s rapidly intensifying competition.