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SPECIAL FEATURE

March - April 2015

Singapore's Nightlife Dissected

A

sia, as everybody is well aware, is
a melti ng pot of mixed cultures.
This transcends to the variety of
entertainment that can be found in the
diff erent countries. Other than clubs catering
to the super rich, there is a wide choice for
one to let their hair down. Singapore in a
way encapsulates the region with its mix of
entertainment venues – KTVs, Dance Clubs,
Mandopop, Bollywood, Thai, Live Band,
Restaurant Cum Clubs, and the list goes on.

In 2006, a report published by leading news
agency, Channel News Asia stated that over
SGD$48 million had been pumped into
Singapore's nightlight scene. At that ti me,
the small city-state aimed to become the
clubbing capital of Asia.

Now, nearly a decade later, the multi billion-
dollar industry has a collecti ve voice
known as the Singapore Nightlife Business
Associati on. According to AsiaOne News

(2013), “the associati on wants not only

to be the fi rst port of call for consultati on

on regulatory issues, but also to give

the industry a classier image by beefi ng

up service standards and introducing

an accreditati on framework for nightlife

business owners.”

However, the road to vibrancy has not been

an easy one. The fi nancial crisis, higher

costs and tough manpower regulati ons have

created a few dents in the nightlife scene.

To understand how the external events and

the country's overall growth in tourism has

aff ected our industry we turned to industry

veterans for their views..

Lights

As part of one of the leading lighti ng

distributors in Singapore, our fi rst source

wished to remain anonymous. Having

supplied equipment to the nightlife market

from the late 80s to early 2000s, he shared,

“..ever since China opened up to export in

2008, everything changed in the lighti ng

department.”

“Club owners now look at low-cost

equipment because they are not overly

concerned with ROI for lighti ng. Business

directi ons have shift ed and this has led

many to make the conscious decision to stop

investi ng in Western lighti ng because they

don't feel the need for such high-quality

lighti ng.”

According to him, club-goers in Singapore

don't noti ce the type of lighti ng as long as

its there. Therefore more owners now rely

on equipment “that will work just as well as

PARCANs”.

Our observati ons as far as Southeast Asia is

concerned is that many of the dance clubs

are willing to spend money on sound systems

but unfortunately not on renowned or

As the night falls in Singapore, the island takes on a persona that off ers an electric array of nightlife and
entertainment choices. However, in a world that moves at such a fast pace, ti mes have changed. From the nightclubs
that sell S$500 vodka to bars that only play live music, diversity seems to have become the name of the game. How
has technology kept up with the changes? And if there has been a shift in focus, where has it shift ed to?

By Elissa Nadine