PRESS RELEASE | October 30, 2001

Artists Against AIDS Worldwide's New Superstar Version of Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' in Stores Tuesday, October 30

PROCEEDS TO SUPPORT AIDS CHARITIES & SEPT 11 VICTIMS RELIEF FUND;

WEBSITE, VIDEO ALSO LAUNCH

(Los Angeles, October 29) -- Artists Against AIDS Worldwide's new, all-star
version of Marvin Gaye's 1971 hit "What's Going On," featuring Christina
Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Destiny's Child, Sean "P.
Diddy" Combs, Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit), Nelly Furtado, Marvin Gaye III,
Nona Gaye, Darren Hayes (of Savage Garden), Ja Rule, Wyclef Jean, Alicia
Keys, Lil' Kim, Aaron Lewis (Stain'd), Missy Elliott, Jennifer Lopez, Moby,
Nelly, Nas, ?uestlove (of the Roots), Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani (of No
Doubt), and Michael Stipe will be in stores on Tuesday, October 30.

"What's Going On" features nine original mixes of the song by Jermaine Dupri
(Original Mix and R&B Mix), Brian Eno, Moby, Fred Durst, The Neptunes,
Junior Vasquez, Mike Mangini, and Mick Guzauski.

The artists have participated in recording the classic song by Marvin Gaye
in support of a new organization called Artists Against AIDS Worldwide
(AAAW). The goal of the organization is to focus attention on the emergency
affecting Africa and other impoverished regions - the global AIDS
epidemic -which kills over 5,000 Africans daily.

Proceeds from sales of the CD will benefit AIDS programs in affected
countries and fund AIDS advocacy campaigns worldwide including, Global AIDS
Alliance, Hope for African Children Initiative, Youth AIDS/Africa Alive, and
Population Services International. In addition, a percentage will benefit
the United Way's September 11th Fund through the end of this year.

"The song we've done is all about mobilization and action, because the
missing ingredient has been political will," commented actress/singer Nona
Gaye, daughter of Marvin Gaye. "We are all asking - What's Going On?
President Bush and other political leaders have made clear that the answer
to the questions is incomplete with out considering Global poverty and AIDS.
Those at risk from AIDS in Africa are the very poorest and cannot be
forgotten. The congress and the administration should work together to
provide $1 billion dollars of emergency money to fight AIDS in Africa."

Bono said during his recent concert in NY City. "And when the dust settles
and all this evil has been pushed aside, we can do something in Africa.
We've seen what happens when Afghanistan implodes. Can you imagine what will
happen if the entire continent of Africa is left to implode?"

In conjunction with the release of the CD, Artists Against AIDS Worldwide is
also launching its website http://www.aaaw.org. The site features exclusive
behind-the-scenes video of the making of the CD and photos of the artists
in-studio, among numerous other features that help site visitors take direct
action to help in the fight against AIDS. Visitors to the site can also hear
audio clips of all nine mixes on the CD, purchase the CD or make donations
to Artists Against AIDS Worldwide. The site also contains the latest facts
regarding the AIDS pandemic around the world and information on how visitors
can contact President Bush and other world leaders to urge support for debt
relief. The site was donated by a generous group of technology partners,
iXL, VitalStream Inc., and Encode This!.

Additionally, a video featuring many of the artists on the CD will premiere
on MTV's -TRL on Wednesday. The video, directed by Jake Scott, reminds
people that despite labels and categories individuals use to differentiate
one another -- and can blind us to the truth -- we are all human. These
labels were incorporated into the performances of many of the artists in the
video.

Leigh Blake, founder of Artists Against AIDS Worldwide said, "This song was
recorded in NYC on 5th and 7th September. Little did we know what was to
follow. In the wake of our suffering, lets not forget the people of Africa,
who also suffer terribly everyday, losing 5,500 of its citizens and one
child every 30 seconds to AIDS. Lets unite, and create a global community
based on safety and healing. They say America doesn't care about the rest
of the world. Lets prove we do."

Previously, Blake was also co-founder of the Red Hot Organization and King
Cole Inc., which has produced several successful CD compilations to raise
money for AIDS research and relief.

The CD's release has been closely coordinated with campaigns of the Global
AIDS Alliance to persuade wealthy governments, particularly the US, to do
much more to help stop global AIDS and inequity. The CD release is timed
with the release of letters from prominent members of Congress and from over
90 civic groups appealing for $1Billion in emergency funds to fight global
AIDS. The CD has also inspired a range of allied advocacy groups to reach
out to fans by inviting them to discussion and action sessions now planned
in six major US cities where Bono and U2 have added "What's Going On?" to
their current tour. The meetings are designed to speak with ordinary
Americans about AIDS, debt and poverty and explain what they can do to help.

Artists Against AIDS Worldwide:

AAAW is dedicated to raising funds and awareness to stop the spread of AIDS
especially in Africa. AAAW wants to encourage political leaders to:

• Drop the Debt (give deeper debt relief to the poorest affected
  countries)

• Treat The People (make anti-AIDS drugs cheaper and more available to
  the poorest and most vulnerable people in Africa)

• Donate the Dollars (rich nations like the USA should give more to
  the international fight against AIDS)

• AAAW combines high profile awareness raising initiatives with the ongoing
  efforts of AIDS activists worldwide.

About Global AIDS Alliance:

The Global AIDS Alliance is an international collaboration among
humanitarian, civil rights, religious, and activist groups. It stands for
eliminating the AIDS crisis without delay by mobilizing public opinion, more
money, and far better policies against HIV/AIDS and its causes, including
extreme poverty. More information on the organization can be found online at
<http://www.globalaidsalliance.org>.

About IXL:

IXL is an industry-focused global consulting and services company. IXL
solves fundamental business issues by digitizing and integrating our
clients' sales, customer service, training, production and distribution
processes to facilitate interactions with all customers, employees and
suppliers across all channels. IXL has done this successfully for some of
the world's leading companies, including AIG, BellSouth, British Airways,
Budget Rent a Car, Chase, Citicorp, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines,
DuPont, Eastman Chemical FedEx, First Union, Fleet, GE and LloydsTSB via its
Enterprise, Travel/Transportation, Financial Services, Retail/Consumer
Packaged Goods and Manufacturing groups. For more information, visit
www.ixl.com.

About VitalStream, Inc.:

VitalStream provides audio and video streaming, advanced media hosting,
payment processing, and consulting services. The Company's unique mix of
services and technology enable businesses to leverage the global reach of
the Internet to distribute their media content to targeted audiences
worldwide. For more information regarding VitalStream, Inc at
www.vitalstream.com

About Encode This!:

As a leading digital media infrastructure company, Encode This! delivers the
industry's most powerful combination of proprietary technologies and
complete digital media solutions. Encode This! specializes in encoding,
encryption, streaming, hosting and applications for digital media content,
providing the highest quality, multi-format, cross-platform services using
the most advanced techniques and technologies in the industry. Encode This!
can be reached at www.encodethis.com

"What's Going On" is a production of Artists Against AIDS Worldwide.

Beverly Visty
dharmata public relations
11661 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 900
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 571-6033 office
(310) 571-1543 fax
www.dharmata.com