In September Suno changed its terms and download limits and launched v6, ElevenLabs released Music v2.5, and Universal and Sony filed a second lawsuit against Suno that also covers v6. If someone at your company makes videos, ads or podcasts, you need to decide which generated music to publish, on which plan and with which safeguards.
What has changed since September
- From 3 September Suno applies new terms and caps monthly downloads at 20 on Pro and 60 on Premier: commercial use requires a download.
- On 9 September v6 came out, developed, says Suno, with Warner Music Group, BMG and Believe.
- On 11 September ElevenLabs released Music v2.5, now the default model in ElevenMusic (Free and Pro plans) and also available in ElevenCreative and through the API. According to ElevenLabs, its deal with Universal Music Group is separate from the model.
- On 18 September Universal and Sony filed a second lawsuit against Suno at the federal court in Boston over 60,202 recordings. Suno answered with a statement to the media, reported on 22 September.
- On 6 October the Italian Competition Authority opened an investigation into Suno's terms, which it considers potentially unfair to consumers: unilateral changes to contract and prices, account closure without notice, arbitration in the United States.
Prices and rights by plan
| Plan | Price per month | Monthly limit | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suno Free | $0 | 50 credits a day, no monthly downloads | No |
| Suno Pro | $10 ($8 if annual) | 2,500 credits, 20 downloads | Yes, on downloaded tracks |
| Suno Premier | $30 ($24 if annual) | 10,000 credits, 60 downloads | Yes, on downloaded tracks |
| ElevenLabs Free | $0 | 10,000 credits | Unclear |
| ElevenLabs Starter | $6 | 30,000 credits | Yes, no streaming |
| ElevenLabs Creator | $22 | 121,000 credits | Yes, streaming too |
| ElevenLabs Pro | $99 | 600,000 credits | Yes, streaming too |
Prices are in US dollars, excluding taxes; in your country the pages may show another currency. On ElevenLabs, online and offline commercial use is allowed, except film, TV, radio and commercial video games released on more than one platform, which need the Enterprise Music plan.
On ElevenLabs the plans from Free to Pro are "for individual use only"; Scale admits organisations with fewer than 10 employees and Business those with fewer than 50. On an ineligible plan the account can be suspended, with possible loss of tracks, fees and credits. The page does not say whether a personal subscription used for work counts as individual use: ask ElevenLabs in writing.
If you use all 20 downloads, Suno Pro works out at $0.40 a track on annual billing and $0.50 on monthly billing [illustrative estimate, to be confirmed against your own project].
The legal risk
A plan with commercial rights governs your relationship with the vendor; labels and other third parties can still challenge a track. In the second lawsuit Universal and Sony argue that v6 inherits the infringement of earlier models, which they say were trained on their recordings without a licence: it would be "the fruit of the same poisoned tree". They seek up to $150,000 per work for wilful infringement; across 60,202 recordings the theoretical maximum exceeds $9 billion.
Suno says v6 was trained "from scratch" and that the claims are "fundamentally flawed on both the facts and the law". It lists licensed partner content, community interactions (including users' creations) and its team's learnings as sources; in the first case it defends training as fair use.
The lawsuits are aimed at Suno. For whoever publishes the tracks, though, the safeguards are few: Suno's terms disclaim all warranties, including non-infringement, cap Suno's liability at what you paid in the last six months (or $100, if more) and provide that you indemnify Suno for claims tied to the tracks. ElevenLabs' music terms disclaim the same warranty and offer no indemnity in your favour. Suno does not promise that copyright will arise in a track; ElevenLabs does not guarantee exclusivity and warns that a track may resemble those of other users.
What it means for your business
If you publish videos on Instagram, YouTube or in paid Reels, generated music is an alternative to stock libraries if you accept a risk the vendor does not cover. For low-impact content a paid plan suited to your use is enough; for TV ads, corporate films and radio campaigns ElevenLabs' self-serve plans exclude the use, and for important campaigns we recommend a stock licence with written warranties or a composer.
For every published track we recommend keeping:
- the downloaded file and the publication date;
- the plan active that day and a copy of the terms: for Suno, tracks downloaded as a subscriber count; for ElevenLabs, the plan in force at creation;
- the prompt, without names of artists, songs or labels, which ElevenLabs forbids in its terms.
Where we start
The topic touches two of our services. The Social Media Manager covers editorial plan, content production, publishing and moderation, with frequency and formats agreed per channel and goal. Brand Identity collects logo, palette, typography and image treatment in guidelines for site, social channels and print.
For a client who hands us the content, we propose keeping a record for every generated track, with file, plan, date, prompt and a copy of the terms, and adding to the guidelines a line on the permitted music sources: for example a library with a written licence, or an AI service used only on a paid plan that covers the intended use. We do not give legal advice: a lawyer should read the licence text.
If you want us to look at how you handle music in your company's content, write to us through the contact page or start from our services.
What we do not know yet
- How the lawsuit will end. Music Business Worldwide's article of 22 September reports only Suno's statement to the media, with no filed response in court and no rulings.
- What the Authority will decide. The investigation has just started and a public consultation is announced for the coming weeks.
- What rights ElevenLabs' Free plan gives. The plans page says personal use; the model-specific terms (26 May 2026, models v1 and v2) allow commercial use with attribution but no downloads; for ElevenMusic's Free plan the v2.5 announcement asks you to credit ElevenMusic.
- Whether an Enterprise contract includes an indemnity for publishers. Suno's public terms and ElevenLabs' music terms have none: ask the vendor.
Sources
- Music Business Worldwide: Suno confirms V6 model was trained on ‘creations’ from users, as it blasts latest Sony and Universal lawsuit (22 September 2026)
- Music Business Worldwide: Suno faces investigation in Italy over terms of service (6 October 2026)
- Suno: Pricing (plans page)
- Suno: Terms of Service (in force from 3 September 2026)
- Suno Help Center: If I subscribe, do I get rights for the songs I made before subscribing? (updated 17 December 2025)
- ElevenLabs: Introducing Music v2.5, our best music model yet (11 September 2026)
- ElevenLabs: AI Music Generator (plans page)
- ElevenLabs: Eleven Music Model-Specific Terms (26 May 2026)
- ElevenLabs: Music Terms (26 May 2026)
