How Asia’s #1 Club Is Adapting To Survive Without Live Music

[NelsonG]

Clubs all around the world have had to adapt to the fact that no shows are currently being booked due to COVID-19. For an industry that literally runs on live events, adaptation was key in order to avoid closing for good. For Zouk Singapore, Asia’s #1 club many years running according to DJ Mag’s Top 100 Clubs poll (#4 2017, #3 2018, #5 2019, #9 2020), that meant transitioning quickly.

In an interview with The Straits Times, Zouk Group chief executive Andrew Li explains the club’s transition to a dine-in eatery and livestreaming club space while live shows wait to come back.

“We’re thinking of it as a pop-up kitchen serving staples like pastas and steaks. Clubs will probably be the last to open, so it’s a good test bed to see how we can safely enter that space again in a more controlled environment,” said Li.

“We’ve since had several requests from companies, and we can even do proper events with an emcee, awards and games. I think it could have future applications after social distancing.”

Zouk’s real estate is massive, with over 31,000 sq ft of space to play around with. The Zouk complex contains the main 1,500 capacity Zouk nightclub, the Phuture lounge-style music venue, Capital, a more upscale lounge and club space, RedTail Bar, and Queens, a more intimate cocktail bar.

So far, only Capital, a lounge within the Zouk complex, “will be transformed into a dine-in eatery when Singapore enters phase two of its reopening if its application for a food shop licence is approved,” writes Straits Times.

Another venture the club has been looking into is bottling their signature cocktails for delivery.

“In good times, you get bogged down by the day-to-day, but since everything has closed, we’ve had to be a lot more innovative,” said Li. “A lot of things have been accelerated in terms of ideas and concepts that we thought we would do in two to three years, but we’re now doing in two months.”

 

via Straits Times | Photo via SHANE CHONG for Zouk

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: How Asia’s #1 Club Is Adapting To Survive Without Live Music

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