ZANNA RECORDS REACHES CUBA, KOSOVO, & IRAQ: MUSIC WINS POLITICS

Havana. Baghdad. Pristina. Yekaterinburg. Minsk. Kyiv. Algiers. One Catalog. One Heart

In a Single 24-Hour Window, Independent Songwriter Gianluca Zanna Discovers His Music Has Quietly Reached Cuba, Iraq, and Kosovo — Three Countries the West Rarely Reaches

On June 1, 2026, in the span of a single afternoon at his off-grid ranch in the wilderness of Arizona, Italian-American songwriter Gianluca Zanna discovered that his independent record label had, without negotiation or diplomacy, quietly reached three of the most politically isolated radio markets in the world.

Cuba. Iraq. Kosovo. Three flags. Three different decades of Western tension. One songwriter from Rome now living in Arizona, whose songs had simply traveled, on their own, on the only frequency politics has never been able to jam.

Havana, December 13, 2024.

At the studios of Radio Progreso — founded December 15, 1929, slogan “La Onda de la Alegría” (“The Airwave of Happiness”), one of the national broadcasters of the Republic of Cuba — a Cuban DJ pressed play on a Zanna song called “Amore.” In a country where cultural policy mandates that more than two-thirds of music broadcast must be Cuban and where music by exiled artists is excluded from the airwaves, an independent Italian-American love song had cleared every gate.

The same Infanta Street studios, six decades earlier, were where Radio Free Dixie was broadcast to the American South during the Civil Rights movement. Same building. Different signal. Same hope.

Amore - Music by Gianluca Zanna and Simone Sello - Lyrics by Gianluca Zanna - Produced by Zanna Records

Baghdad, March 3, 2022

Just weeks after Zanna Records was founded — before the label had any team, any budget, any publicist — Alrasheed FM Baghdad 91.5 played “I Am (Remix).” The label has now known about this play for less than 24 hours. It happened four years ago. A song reached Iraq in 2022 and waited patiently to be discovered.

Alrasheed FM Baghdad 91.5 played “I Am (Remix) as it was released without any submission. More radio stations that are playing Zanna Records songs are coming in from around the world

Pristina, January 2023 — October 2024.

In Kosovo — the youngest country in Europe, recognized by some nations and not by others, a place where the line between independence and disputed territory is still being negotiated — two stations, Capital FM and Radio Drenasi, repeatedly played Zanna's music throughout 2023 and 2024 and more Zanna Records songs being played are coming in every day.

Radio Drenasi and Capital FM in Kosovo play Zanna Records songs without any submission

Kosovo declared independence in 2008. Russia does not recognize it. Serbia does not recognize it. But the radio dials in Pristina do, and on those dials, a love song from Sedona shares time with the rest of the world.

The Logic of Borders. The Logic of Songs.

These June 1, 2026 discoveries did not happen in a vacuum. Six weeks earlier, on April 16, 2026, within a single 24-hour window, Zanna Records’ music aired on three radio stations across three countries currently locked in active war:

• RUSSIA — Radio Pilot, Yekaterinburg

• BELARUS — Center FM, Minsk

• UKRAINE — Yantarne.FM, Novoyavorivsk

Three flags that cannot agree on a border. One song that did not need to.

Add to that list Algeria (“Hits 1 Algérie,” Toulouse-Algiers signal). Add Lebanon (Beirut Nights). Add Pakistan (FM 100 Karachi). Add Gabon (Hit Radio, Libreville). Add Saint Lucia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Aruba, Barbados, Haiti.

A short list of places where Western independent music typically does not reach. A complete list of places where Zanna Records music has been verified, by name, by date, by audience.

In His Own Words

“I did not write ‘Amore’ for Cubans. I did not write ‘I Am’ for Iraqis or Kosovars. I did not write ‘You Are My Destiny’ for Ukrainians or Russians or Belarusians. I wrote them for every human being who loves music that delivers emotions.

Politicians draw borders. Music ignores them. I have learned to trust the music.”

— Gianluca Zanna, founder, Zanna Records

A Life Built Out of Crossings

Zanna was born in Rome. At eleven years old, after his mother’s illness and his parents’ divorce, he chose — on his own — to enroll at Convitto Nazionale boarding school in Rome to ease his family’s finances. At sixteen, he attended Nunziatella Military Academy in Naples. He spent fifteen months as a Roman gladiator street performer. In 1998 he immigrated to the United States. In 2022, from an office in Sedona, Arizona, he founded Zanna Records on a single conviction: that a song belongs to whoever hears it.

That conviction is no longer theoretical. It is verified, station by station, country by country, by the World Airplay Radio Monitor (WARM) and by Songstats.

The Numbers, as of June 1, 2026

400+ verified stations	across 91 countries · 6 continents
Independent verification	WARM (World Airplay Radio Monitor) · Songstats
Newest country additions	Cuba 🇨🇺 · Iraq 🇮🇶 · Kosovo 🇽🇰 (all discovered June 1, 2026)
Earlier press coverage	Rolling Stone (US/UK) · Billboard Italia · Forbes Scotland · Music Connection · Entrepreneur UK · NPR’s This American Life

These countries do not always speak to each other.

On the Zanna Records playlist, they share a song.

Upcoming Release

On June 21, 2026, Zanna Records will release a worldwide dual edition of “You Are My Destiny” featuring Joseph Wooten — the three-time Grammy-nominated keyboardist, songwriter, and motivational speaker of the Steve Miller Band and The Wooten Brothers.

The label’s May 15, 2026 rock release, “Live with No Regrets — Analog Rebellion,” unites Kevin Martin (Candlebox) on vocals, Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Dio) on bass, Robert Sarzo (Hurricane) on guitar, Robin Diaz (Hole, P.O.D., Candlebox) on drums, and Danny Saber as music producer (The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna, Alice Cooper, Ozzy).

A Closing Thought

Music does not require visas.

It does not stop at checkpoints.

It does not need a passport stamped.

It does not need a country to recognize another country.

The signal from an off grid Arizona Ranch in the middle of Arizona's Desert reached Havana, Baghdad, and Pristina the same way it reached Yekaterinburg, Minsk, Novoyavorivsk, Algiers, Beirut, Karachi, Castries, and Libreville — by traveling on the only frequency politics has never been able to jam: the human heart.

ABOUT ZANNA RECORDS

Zanna Records is an independent label founded in 2022 by Italian-American songwriter Gianluca Zanna. Based in Sedona, Arizona, with an off-grid ranch in the east Arizona high desert, the label’s catalog spans 150+ original compositions across EDM, rock, classical, and cinematic genres. Zanna performs as “Luca” in the EDM duo Luca and Claudette alongside singer Claudette Lyons, represented by JJ Entertainment, Hollywood. Chart history includes #1 North American College & Community Radio, #3 Amazon Dance & Electronic, and Billboard official Spotify playlist placement.

MEDIA CONTACT

Zanna Records · Sedona, Arizona · www.zannarecords.com