ElevenLabs recently unveiled the Eleven Album, a compilation of tracks developed to showcase its new AI music generator, Eleven Music. The project involved collaborations with various artists, including Liza Minnelli.
A public playlist on Spotify currently features many of the album’s songs. The new Liza Minnelli track, “Kids Wait Til You Hear This,” along with other selections, is also accessible on the ElevenLabs website. All tracks are expected to be available on Spotify in the near future.
Initial reactions suggest the new Liza Minnelli song may not meet expectations.
The Eleven Album: A Promotional Effort
ElevenLabs, an AI audio company, previously collaborated with celebrities, including Minnelli, to introduce the Iconic Voices Marketplace. This platform allows users to license cloned celebrity voices for commercial or editorial projects. The company’s AI music generator, Eleven Music, was launched in December.
While an ElevenLabs blog post labels the album a “landmark musical release,” it appears to function more as a promotional tool for Eleven Music rather than a display of authentic musical artistry. Liza Minnelli and Art Garfunkel are the most prominent artists involved, alongside various producers, songwriters, and musicians.
Justine Bateman, a filmmaker and author known for her criticism of generative AI in the arts, commented on such collaborations. She suggested that artists engaging in AI projects are likely compensated significantly, viewing these partnerships as marketing efforts by tech companies to legitimize their offerings to a broader audience, beyond those in the film or music industries.
ElevenLabs, in a press release, characterized the creative process as a collaborative effort. The company stated that each contributor created an original track, combining their unique style with Eleven Music’s capabilities, aiming to demonstrate new creative avenues without diminishing human artistry. The press release also confirmed that artists would retain full authorship and commercial rights to their music.
Liza Minnelli, an acclaimed EGOT winner, has largely withdrawn from public life in recent years due to health concerns. The extent of her direct involvement in the production of her credited track remains unclear.
A quote attributed to Minnelli appeared in the blog post:
“Music has always been about connection and emotional truth for me. The appeal of this project was using my voice and new tools to serve expression, not replace it. This initiative respects the artist’s voice, choices, and ownership. Having seen my parents create incredible works that were then owned by others, I value that ElevenLabs empowers creators to also be owners. That is significant.”
Auditory Impressions of the Eleven Album
Liza Minnelli is recognized for her distinctive alto voice, stage presence, and vibrant personality. However, her new song, “Kids Wait Til You Hear This,” deviates significantly from her established musical style. Instead of a Broadway-esque showtune, the track presents as a generic EDM song. It appears to draw inspiration from the 2010 dance hit “Barbra Streisand” by Duck Sauce, though the execution differs considerably.
Other contributions, like “Uno, Dos, Tres” by Kai.wav and “She got that fire” by Kondzilla, exhibit a highly derivative quality, a frequent characteristic of AI-generated music. Conversely, some tracks on the album are indistinguishable from human-composed music. For instance, composer Demitri Lerios’s instrumental piece could readily pass as a human-created movie score, without any indication of AI co-creation.
The album, in its current form, reinforces the perception that AI music lacks soul. It functions primarily as an advertisement, potentially diminishing any inherent artistic merit.
Artist Objections to Artificial Intelligence in Creative Fields
The integration of AI into music and the arts continues to be a contentious issue, with many artists adopting a firm stance against its use. Companies employing generative AI in various creative sectors, such as commercials, music, video games, or filmmaking, frequently encounter strong criticism from AI opponents.
Numerous musicians criticize the AI industry for training its audio models using copyrighted material without proper authorization or compensation. The environmental footprint of the AI industry also raises concerns among critics. Additionally, some artists fear that AI technology could displace jobs for artists, actors, musicians, and other creative professionals. From a creative standpoint, a strong belief exists that AI-generated art is inherently contradictory.
Bateman offered an analogy: “If you combined three meals prepared by excellent chefs, mashed them together, and then molded the mixture into something resembling a chicken breast on a plate — would you consider that cooking? And would you be a chef? That is essentially what this is.”
The filmmaker urged a shift in perspective, stating, “People should stop discussing AI as if it were an independent entity. It is an algorithm, almost entirely composed of stolen work, which a human then uses to try and replicate what they believe will be commercially successful. Can that truly be called art?”
Despite the significant backlash and legal challenges from artists, major Hollywood studios, music labels, and advertising agencies continue to adopt AI technology in various applications.
However, AI audio technology also presents promising applications, such as translating podcasts or music into multiple languages. ElevenLabs maintains that the album demonstrates “new creative possibilities without compromising human artistry.”
