Viral AI-Generated SpongeBob Raps Spark Copyright Questions in Booming Generative Music Space

Videos featuring AI-generated raps by SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs characters have gone viral on YouTube and Spotify by an anonymous artist named Glorb.

Generative AI tools have advanced to make it easier for artists like Glorb to create music, but issues around copyright and ownership remain.

Major artists like Paul McCartney and Grimes have released AI-generated songs, with Grimes getting royalties from songs using her AI voice.

An AI-generated song by Ghostwriter sparked copyright concerns and was removed from platforms by Universal Music Group.

Lawmakers have started to address regulating AI voices in music with Tennessee's "ELVIS Act," but the volume of AI-generated content will be hard to control.