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Nominations for the second Arion Greek Music Awards were announced March 26 in Athens. Pop singer/songwriter Mihalis Hadjiyiannis (Universal) and local superstar Antonis Remos (Sony Music) led the way, gaining eight nominations each, both with nods for top artist and album and song of the year. Balladeer Yiannis Kotsiras (Minos-EMI) and laika performer Natasa Theodoridou (Sony Music) had seven nods apiece. The event, organized by the Greek arm of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and commercial channel Mega, is set for April 15 at Athens' Fever nightclub. This year's lifetime achievement award will go to international Greek star Nana Mouskouri, who has sold more than 300 million albums. The 31/2-hour show will be televised live in Greece and via satellite to Australia and the U.S. MARIA PARAVANTES



Sanctuary Group has launched an online hub in the U.K., targeting the synchronization and compilation markets. The service, at sanctuarymusiclicensing.com, offers record companies, movie/TV/radio producers, and advertising agencies access to a database of 9,000 tracks that can be searched by artist name, album title, or record label. Licensing requests can be made directly from the site. Lars Brandle



Tokyo-based Columbia Music Entertainment (CME) group of companies (formerly Nippon Columbia) says it is "substantially" on target to meet its projections of sales of 29.5 billion yen ($245.7 million) and a net loss of approximately 1.5 billion yen ($12.5 million) for the current business year. The CME group has been undergoing extensive restructuring aimed at restoring it to profitability since its acquisition in May 2001 by New York-based investment firm Ripplewood. STEVE McCLURE



Italian collecting society SIAE, whose troubled finances led it to be placed under a special government commission in 1999, will elect a new assembly June 8; that 64-strong assembly will elect a new president and five-member governing body to replace the current commission. The society's 61,000-strong membership, which is made up of writers and publishers, will vote in the elections for the first time since since October 1995. In 2002, the society reported a post-tax profit of 7 million euros ($7.6 million). MARK WORDEN



U.K. retail chain/entertainment group Woolworths Group has reported a substantial gain in annual pretax profits before exceptionals and goodwill to £52.8 million ($82.93 million) for the year ended Feb. 1. The group reported a pretax loss of £46.4 million ($66 million) in the previous year, which included costs relating to the company's demerger from former parent Kingfisher. Sales during the latest period were up 4.5% to £2.71 billion ($4.25 billion). In its financial review, the London-based company singled out its entertainment units—which saw total sales increase to £1.22 billion ($1.91 billion) from £1.03 billion ($1.61 billion)—as among its best-performing categories. Lars Brandle