Sanremo, what is the 'Tony Effe effect' and how it affected the 2026 cast

The good thing is that the 30 tracks of the Big, listened to in preview, sound in many cases better than one would have expected. The next Sanremo, broadcast live on Rai 1 from 24 to 28 February, might well have some nice surprises in store for us, but it does not change the basic scenario: based on the data available at the starting tapes, we are talking about the weakest discography of the last five years.

The artists of the 2026 cast have so far won 335 platinum records in their careers. In 2025 the figure was no less than 695, in 2024 512, in 2023 not too many more (341) and in 2022 slightly less (280). If we compare average monthly listeners on Spotify, the leading music streaming platform, the 76th edition directed by Carlo Conti has 29.4 million. Merciless comparison with the 2025 edition (52.8 million) and even more 2024 (even 54 million). Also worse than 2023 (33.6 million) and 2022 (31.2 million). Out of the thirty artists competing in 2026, just nine exceed the one million average listener threshold on Spotify, with a podium made up of Luché (3.1 million), Fedez (2.5 million) and Tommaso Paradiso (2 million), while three are even below the 100,000 mark (Bambole di Pezza, Maria Antonietta and Colombre).

As far as we can see so far, we are, in short, reversing a trend that, from 2019 onwards, had seen a progressive overlap between the Festival's offerings and the music that reached the charts: the most listened-to artists went to Sanremo and the Sanremo songs went to the charts. To say: in 2015, according to the Fimi Niq data, the songs in the competition produced 400 thousand certifications, in 2023 (Marco Mengoni's last victory) we reached 5 million, until dropping slightly to 3.8 million last year.

Another interesting detail: in 2024 the most listened-to artist of 2023 (Geolier) competed, in 2025 it was the turn of the most listened-to artist of 2024 (Tony Effe). Paradoxically, after a 2025 that ended with the winner of Sanremo (Olly) topping both the singles and the album charts, a circumstance that has never occurred in the history of the Festival, we will see a festival largely populated by outsiders. The genesis of this edition, on the other hand, was not the easiest: first the long and complex negotiations between the City of Sanremo and RAI on the convention, then that of the State TV with the record companies on the contributions, and finally what we could call a "Tony Effe effect" to act as a bogeyman: the Roman trapper, last year started off with great expectations, at the Ariston he placed 25th. And even 92nd in the annual singles ranking. Episodes that must not have encouraged strong artists who cultivated the idea. "The hope", comments Enzo Mazza, ceo of Fimi, "is that this edition consecrates new names on the charts, as was the case in 2019, when Mahmood imposed himself".

Looking at the balance in the field between record companies, Sony Music entered eight projects, Warner Music seven and Universal Music six. One each for Bmg and Believe, while indie labels bring seven. Which in four cases are distributed by Warner Music, in one by Sony Music and in one by Believe.