Sanremo 2027 bans AI that replaces human creativity, and RAI can check every entry
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The Sanremo Music Festival just wrote an AI rule into its 2027 rulebook. Songs in the competition “must be an expression of human creativity”, and RAI, the Italian broadcaster that runs the festival, can use any technology it likes to check.
Sanremo is Italy’s biggest song contest and a live TV event, and it has often picked Italy’s entry for Eurovision. The 2027 edition runs February 16 to 20 at the Teatro Ariston, with Stefano De Martino as host and artistic director.
What the Sanremo 2027 AI rule says
The rule is one paragraph in the 2027 regulations RAI has just published, reported in Italy by Il Sole 24 Ore. Here it is in the translation Digital Music News published.
Artificial intelligence systems or tools may not be used, in their conception, in the composition of music and lyrics, or in their production, if such use entails the replacement, alteration, or distortion of the human creative contribution.
So AI can still be part of a Sanremo entry, as Music Ally noted. A song gets into trouble when AI replaces the human part.
The rule came from a request by FIMI, the body that represents Italy’s recorded music industry. RAI and De Martino “reserve the right, where deemed necessary” to use “any available technological means” to check how a song was written and produced.
Where Sanremo sits next to other 2026 AI music rules
Sanremo is the latest gatekeeper to draw a line this year. In Finland, the official chart now bans AI music unless humans made most of it with licensed tools. SubmitHub blocks fully AI submissions to its curators.
The hard part is the same everywhere: deciding how much AI counts as too much. Korea’s music copyright society KOMCA pulled its AI registration rules after 22 days over exactly that question.
Sanremo doesn’t define “alteration” and doesn’t name a detection tool. If you’re writing an entry for February, that leaves the call on any borderline tool with RAI and De Martino.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Sanremo 2027 rules on artificial intelligence?
The Sanremo Music Festival 2027 rulebook says competing songs must be an expression of human creativity. AI systems or tools cannot be used in the conception, composition of music and lyrics, or production of a song if that use replaces, alters or distorts the human creative contribution.
Can artists use any AI tools on a Sanremo 2027 entry?
The rulebook does not ban AI outright. It bans AI use that replaces, alters or distorts the human creative contribution, so a tool that leaves that contribution intact is not ruled out by the wording. Where that line sits in practice is left to RAI and the artistic director.
How will RAI check Sanremo 2027 songs for AI use?
RAI and artistic director Stefano De Martino reserve the right to use any available technological means to verify whether AI was used in conceiving, composing or producing a song. The rulebook does not name a specific detection tool.
About the author
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