SUN MICROSYSTEMS PUTS VIRGIN RECORDS ON THE GLOBAL INTERNET; Virgin's "RAFT" Becomes First Music Internet Site in UK

Business Wire, July 25, 1995

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 25, 1995--Teaming with network computing leader Sun Microsystems, Virgin Records Ltd. has launched "RAFT," the UK's first music Internet site. Virgin's RAFT electronic "home page" has a user-friendly graphical interface for navigating information across the Internet. Data-hungry music fans can now easily access a myriad of images, music video and audio clips, concert information and memorabilia relating to many artists associated with the Virgin label.

Commenting on the launch of RAFT, Paul Conroy, managing director of Virgin Records, said, "We're very excited by the reality of the Internet. It allows us to reach new and existing audiences through a dynamic new medium. The Internet may be in its infancy, but it already has proved to be a powerful communications tool."

Netra Gets CyberspaceGigs Going

Running on one of Sun's powerful Sun(TM) Netra(TM) Internet Server computers, RAFT features a database of information on Virgin label artists and also a worldwide gig guide: "Who's Playing Anywhere in the World Tonight." The compact and inexpensive Netra server allows RAFT to create hypertext links where visitors can access additional information on featured bands such as "Massive Attack," "McAlmont," "Whale," "The Verve," "The Brotherhood," "Dreadzone," "Future Sound of London," and many others. On-line chat groups may also be created for visiting fans to share information, ideas and gossip.

RAFT's innovative visual style and sound, was created by a collaboration between the Virgin Music Group, musicians on the Hut and Virgin labels, Internet creative company, state51, and students from the Royal College of Art and the London Institute. The team designed Virgin's home page to be uniquely interactive and accessible. In its first two months of activity, the site is already attracting over 70,000 accesses a week, 38 percent from the U.S. and the rest from around the world. To visit Virgin's RAFT, type: http://www.vmg.co.uk.

Easy Internet Tools For Fast, Secure Access

Sun was an early pioneer of the Internet and offers a wide range of innovative hardware and software products that enable business users to engage in business-to-business commerce or business-to-consumer commerce. In the area of easy access, Sun's Netra Internet Server product line is a complete and easy-to-install hardware and software system that provides simple and secure access to the Internet. According to the Internet Society, a majority of the worldwide Internet traffic runs on Sun servers, while the vast majority of Internet applications were developed on Sun.

Sun Microsystems Computer Company (SMCC) is a world leader in the design, manufacture and sale of network computing systems for businesses and is a division of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Recognized for quality and innovation, the company's SPARC-based workstations, multiprocessing servers, SPARC microprocessors and Solaris(TM) operating software each hold the No. 1 UNIX marketshare position and are used primarily for technical, commercial, industrial, education and software development applications. -0-

Note to Editors: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Netra and Solaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including the SCD Compliant logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Press announcements and other information about Sun Microsystems are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web using a tool such as Netscape or NCSA Mosaic. Type http://www.sun.com at the URL prompt.

CONTACT: Sun Microsystems Computer Company

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