Daily 9/11: UMG-ElevenLabs licensing, iQIYI AI filmmaking, Pocket Entertainment's growth

UMG and ElevenLabs are opening a licensed AI music platform for fan remixes. iQIYI has paired Alibaba's Wan3.0 with a professional filmmaking platform, while Pocket Entertainment reports $500 million in ARR after applying AI across its content operation.

• [Universal Music Group] UMG and ElevenLabs Launch a Licensed AI Music Creation Platform ↗

  Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs are launching a licensed AI music platform that lets fans create remixes, mashups, and new interpretations from participating artists' recordings. The companies will also jointly develop AI audio products for artists and songwriters. By bringing fan-driven transformations of existing music into a formal rights framework, the partnership shifts the training and use debate toward licensing and co-developed products.

• [PR Newswire] iQIYI Opens a Global Professional AI Filmmaking Platform Powered by Alibaba's Wan3.0 ↗

  iQIYI has launched an end-to-end AI filmmaking challenge through the international version of NadouPro and is expanding its planning and production tools with Alibaba's Wan3.0. The initiative goes beyond releasing a video-generation model by combining tools aimed at professional film and television workflows with a global creator program. It connects a China-developed video model to a professional production pipeline and an international creator distribution network.

• [PR Newswire] Pocket Entertainment Reaches $500 Million ARR as AI Scales Its Content Operation ↗

  Pocket Entertainment, the company behind Pocket FM and Pocket Saga, says it reached $500 million in annualized revenue after growing 70% year over year. The platform reports more than 550,000 creators and over 250 million listeners, while applying AI to creation, production, multilingual localization, and distribution. The company says content retention rose from 44% to 76%. The figures position AI as part of the operating system for scaling audio and microdrama entertainment rather than only as a creative assistant.