Sanremo, the new 2027 rules: AI is excluded from the songs
The Sanremo 2027 regulations prohibit the use of artificial intelligence where it replaces, alters or distorts human creative input
Artificial intelligence is to be excluded from the songs competing at the Sanremo Festival. This principle is set out in writing in the event’s new regulations, which, for the 2027 edition, introduce explicit restrictions on the use of AI in the creation of songs. This decision responds to the requests put forward by FIMI, the Italian Music Industry Federation, and brings to the Ariston stage an issue that is affecting the entire music industry.
The wording chosen leaves little room for interpretation: ‘The songs must be an expression of human creativity’. Consequently, ‘artificial intelligence systems or tools’ may not be used in the conception, composition of music and lyrics, or production of the songs, where their use involves ‘the replacement, alteration or distortion of the human creative contribution’, which constitutes an essential characteristic of the participating songs.
The point, therefore, is not to ban technology as such, but to draw a line when the machine takes the place of the author or artist, or intervenes to the extent of distorting their work. The regulations also introduce a monitoring mechanism: Rai and the artistic director may, where deemed necessary, use any available technological means to verify and assess any use of artificial intelligence in the conception, composition and production of the songs.
This marks the culmination of a request that FIMI had already put forward back in August. And now the Federation’s CEO, Enzo Mazza, has welcomed the decision. ‘The stance taken by Rai, which is in line with the principles adopted by the music industry, is important. Generative AI is certainly a technology that will form part of the sector, but it must be used transparently and without replacing human creativity, which – particularly in a song and lyrics competition – must remain absolutely central.’
The issue, moreover, extends far beyond Sanremo. In recent months, the music industry has adopted a voluntary labelling system at international level that distinguishes between ‘AI-generated’ and ‘AI-assisted’ tracks. FIMI has also established criteria for entry into the official ‘Top of the Music’ charts for recordings developed using generative AI: only tracks produced via authorised services – essentially created by humans and without any manipulation of streaming figures – may enter the charts. A distinction that Mazza had summarised as the one between ‘responsible innovation and ethics on the one hand, and the replacement of human creativity on the other’.
