Ahead of San Marino‘s brand new national final on 3 March, organisers have made changes to the voting system. 1 In 360 says this is in response to feedback from fans and will make the voting system simpler and involve the fan community more.

The changes were confirmed today on social media.

The fans spoke, and we listened. Please see attached for updated voting rules for the #1in360 finals. See you there. pic.twitter.com/V1xBRN76XT — 1in360 (@1in360talent) February 19, 2018

Three main changes have been made to the voting system. First, Zoë Straub is no longer part of the expert jury. As both she and her father Christof Straub are also involved as songwriters on some of the entries, organisers agreed with fans that it was not appropriate for her to be judging her own songs.

Secondly, the public vote will be given the same weight as the jury vote — a 50/50 split. This replaces the previous system which used a complicated proportional system based on the number of votes received.

The third change is to the way the public can vote. Under the old system, voting would have been done through a €1 online vote and/or from the crowdfunding system. Fans are able to invest in the competing songs by purchasing a small percentage of the song’s royalties.

Organisers have now scrapped the €1 online vote. Now the only way the public can vote is as part of the crowdfunding system. The minimum investment in crowdfunding of the songs is €20. There’s also a maximum of €8000 per song to prevent a contestant with deep pockets from buying their way to the top of the vote.

1 In 360 – Crowdfunding totals (as of 19 February)

The crowdfunding totals already give clues as to who the contest favourites will be. Austrian singer Sara de Blue currently leads the crowdfunding, with a total of €2160. She is followed by the Maltese singer Jessika feat. San Marino’s own IROL, who have €720. In third place, Franklin Calleja from Malta has €320.

At the other end of the scale, Camilla North, IROL feat. Basti and Tinashe Makura are yet to attract any crowdfunding for their songs.

Sara de Blue – “Out of the Twilight” (€2160) Jessika feat. IROL – “Who We Are” (€720) Franklin Calleja – “Stay” (€320) Basti – “Stay” (€200) Giovanni Montalbano – “Per quello che mi dai” (€200) Judah Gavra – “Stay” (€160) Jenifer Brening – “Until the Morning Light” (€120) Emma Sandström – “Diamonds” (€80) Camilla North – “Yo no soy tu chica” (€0) IROL feat. Basti – “Sorry” (€0) Tinashe Makura – “Free Yourself” (€0)

What do you think of the new voting system? Will you pay €20 to support your favourite song? Who should repesent San Marino in Lisbon? Tell us what you think below!