Lyria 2 is 13 credits per 30 seconds, so 26 credits a minute. That makes it the sensible middle of the audio roster: cheaper than ElevenLabs Music at 81 a minute, more consistent than MiniMax at 5 a generation.
The most useful thing to know is that you should almost never generate a full-length track with it.
TL;DR
- 13 credits per 30 seconds, 26 per minute, about $0.13 and $0.26
- Generate 30 seconds and loop it. A 10-minute video needs 13 credits of music, not 260
- Cheaper alternative: MiniMax Music v2 at 5 credits a generation
- Premium alternative: ElevenLabs Music at 81 a minute, for music that is exposed
- Instrumental beds are where generated audio is genuinely strong
The audio ladder
Canon 8frame prices, a credit is $0.01 at pack rate:
| Route | Credits | Per minute |
|---|---|---|
| MiniMax Music v2 | 5 per generation | depends on length |
| Lyria 2 | 13 per 30 seconds | 26 |
| MiniMax Music 3 | 17 per generation | depends on length |
| ElevenLabs Music | 81 per minute | 81 |
| ElevenLabs SFX | 5 per effect | n/a |
| ElevenLabs TTS | 13 per 1,000 characters | n/a |
The loop arithmetic
This is the whole practical point.
A 10-minute video, full track: 260 credits on Lyria 2, or 810 on ElevenLabs Music.
A 10-minute video, 30-second loop: 13 credits.
Under narration, nobody notices the loop. Generated music often has a dynamic arc anyway, which is lovely alone and a problem under speech, so the short loop is frequently the better-sounding option as well as the cheaper one.
How to loop it properly:
- Ask for a loop explicitly in the prompt.
- Test the join by playing the end into the beginning ten times.
- Crossfade half a second in your editor if it does not sit, which it usually does not.
- Compress it so the level stays flat under speech.
Prompting Lyria 2
Function first, then components. This ordering matters more than any individual word:
- State the job. "Background bed under narration, sparse, no lead melody, nothing in the mid range."
- Tempo and feel. "80 bpm, calm, steady."
- Named instruments. "Warm analogue pad, soft sub bass, occasional high bell." Naming instruments beats naming a genre by a wide margin.
- Processing. "Tape saturation, low-pass filtered, slight wow and flutter."
- Dynamics. "Consistent level, no build, no drop."
- Exclusions. "No vocals, no lead line, no big transitions."
Point 1 is the one people skip and it separates a usable bed from a track that fights your voiceover.
The mid-range rule
Human speech sits in the middle of the frequency spectrum. Any musical element with melodic content there competes directly with narration and the listener's attention splits.
Keep melodic content low or high. Bass or bells, not a tune in the middle.
Carve the mids in your editor. A high-pass and low-pass removing the speech range is the single most effective edit for any bed under dialogue, and it takes ten seconds.
A bed that sounds slightly empty alone is usually correct under speech. A bed that sounds good alone is usually wrong.
Where to use something else
MiniMax Music v2 at 5 credits when you want the cheapest possible exploration, or when you want lyrics, which it supports.
ElevenLabs Music at 81 a minute when the music is exposed: a title sequence, a brand film where the score carries emotion, anything where someone is listening to the music rather than through it.
ElevenLabs SFX at 5 credits for texture layers: vinyl crackle, room tone, rain. Layering one of those under a Lyria bed does more for authenticity than any model choice.
A music library when you need stems, multiple lengths of the same cue, or human performance. Stems in particular are something generation does not give you, and being able to mute the drums under a dialogue section is genuinely useful.
Licensing
On a paid 8frame plan, output is watermark-free and commercial use is cleared on paid plans.
The trap is elsewhere: free tiers on third-party music services are typically personal use only, and a monetised video is commercial use. See best free AI music generators for the current state of that.
FAQ
How much does Lyria 2 cost? 13 credits per 30 seconds, 26 per minute.
Should I generate a full track? Rarely. Generate 30 seconds and loop it unless the music is exposed.
Why does my music fight the voiceover? Melodic content in the speech range. Carve the mids out.
What is the cheapest music on the canvas? MiniMax Music v2 at 5 credits per generation.
Thirty seconds, looped, with the middle left empty. The 8frame canvas is free and unlimited, and generation is paid from $19/month.