Red Hot is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3 organization dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS through pop culture. It was started in 1990 by Leigh Blake and John Carlin with the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue, which raised millions of dollars, helped reduce the stigma around AIDS at the time and supported organizations and efforts such as ACT UP and T.A.G., which took a stand and made the world pay attention and develop medication that let people with AIDS survive.

The organization has been focused on fighting global pandemics, educating listeners, challenging stereotypes that stand in the way of equity, and moving people with influential, star-studded records. Red Hot understands the power of culture, particularly music, in reaching a diverse, broad, and sometimes underserved audience. Red Hot typically collaborates with key partners to ensure appropriate and authentic relationships to different communities that face barriers to equal access to healthcare and information about their own welfare.

Red Hot has developed an effective and unique methodology over the past 30 years to speak in the voice of specific communities at risk through the voice of relevant and appropriate artists. This has created a legacy of critically acclaimed projects that also provided public health messages in a way that no one else has done. 

Over 500 artists, producers and directors have contributed to 20 compilation albums of original music, videos, events and media to raise awareness for public health campaigns as well as lay the groundwork for lasting cultural change in the areas of sex, health, equity, and inclusion.

The typical Red Hot project has been a compilation album of original music. All of the artists, labels, songwriters and many others donate their time, fees and royalties to support Red Hot’s charitable mission: promoting public health through diversity and fighting for equal access to care. Projects begin with an idea, typically a collaboration among many people, supervised by Red Hot’s co-founder and creative director.

Although Red Hot is a 501(c)(3) organization, rather than functioning as a typical nonprofit, Red Hot operates as a creative production company. It maintains a lean staff, keeping its overhead to a minimum. By using popular culture and artfully influential messaging, Red Hot works with grassroots allies to make and disseminate innovative projects that target hard to reach audiences.  Revenues from these projects are distributed to traditional charities, often in collaboration with the artists who have contributed their music or art.

Our process is to:

• Work with local grassroots organizations to identify a pressing public health issue area and the demographic who require specialized messaging in order to move the needle
• With those organizations and advisors, Identify the specific messaging that will be required 
• Identify the music/medium we will use to get this message out 
• Create the campaign using the relevant music and build out using appropriate messaging and platforms to reach the desired population. 

Red Hot produces awareness campaigns and multimedia to further its mission as well as support social and creative innovation. In the early 90s there was a street poster campaign featuring gay, lesbian and straight couples photographed by Steven Meisel, Steven Klein and Bruce Weber. As well as a related short video PSA campaign directed by Lance Acord. All of Red Hot video programs also had PSA elements that were shown on MTV, VH-1, PBS, Bravo, Channel 4, BBC, Canal Plus and other outlets targeting audiences affected by HIV/AIDS.

Red Hot is a leader in digital interactive entertainment. The company’s first website featured interactive art pieces and games. It also produced online safer sex games before the World Wide Web. One of Red Hot’s videos was among the first to stream on the Internet. Red Hot also produced innovative CD-ROMs featuring digital animation and interactions such as The Beat Experience and Optic Nerve, an interactive catalogue for a one person exhibition of the work of David Wojnarowicz. The disc recreated the artist’s multimedia performances called Itsofomo. (Wojnarowicz died of AIDS-related causes in 1992 and was one of the inspirations for starting Red Hot.) In that era, Red Hot also created interactive applications on its CDs, such as America Is Dying Slowly, that allowed people to remix tracks and access exclusive videos on their PCs. Red Hot also designed and created one of the first online documentaries: Red Hot + Africa as a companion to the Fela Kuti tribute Red Hot + Riot. The website featured documentary footage and interview shot in South Africa and Nigeria.