Yes, in most cases, and for a better reason than “nobody’s complained yet.” URA’s Allowable Uses guidelines for Business 1 and Business 2 developments name “Core Media” as a predominant industrial use in its own right, defined as production services that need technical facilities such as studios and specialised production equipment.[1][2] A commercial photography or video studio doing shoots for brands, e-commerce listings, or corporate clients sits squarely inside that category, specifically the “production” branch, which covers studio production, location production, and dressing rooms.[1] That is why so many studios already operate out of flatted factories in Tai Seng, Ubi, and Kallang without anyone treating it as a special case.
This matters to a photographer or videographer deciding between a shophouse unit and a cheaper industrial floor plate for the ceiling height and loading bay, and to a landlord or property manager trying to work out whether a “studio” listed on an application is actually the kind URA has already accounted for. What follows is how Core Media fits inside the industrial use quantum, why that puts it in a different position from uses like gyms or standalone offices, where a studio can tip into a retail use instead, and the infrastructure checks that matter more than the zoning question once you’ve confirmed fit.
Core Media Is a Named Predominant Use, Not a Workaround
URA’s B1 and B2 Allowable Uses lists set out specific categories that count toward the 60% predominant-use quantum every industrial unit must meet: manufacturing, food packing, printing and publishing, warehousing tied to an industrial operation, e-business, and Core Media.[1][2] Core Media itself splits into three functions: pre-production (creative conceptualisation, scripting, editing), production (studio production including dressing rooms, location production, audio recording, dubbing, media library services, printing press), and network programming (scheduling, transmission, origination playback).[1] A photography or video studio renting and shooting from the premises is production in the plain sense URA uses the word, and the named examples in the guidance, broadcasters and publishers running their own studio floors, describe exactly this kind of activity at a larger scale.
That placement matters because it means a studio isn’t trying to squeeze into the 40% ancillary allowance the way a staff canteen or a showroom does.[3] It counts as the core activity itself, the same way a manufacturing line does. Verify the unit’s approved-use record actually reflects media production or a compatible description before you lease, since the general permission in URA’s guidelines doesn’t automatically transfer to every unit’s specific paperwork.[4]
Why This Isn’t the Gym or Standalone-Office Problem
A standalone gym or a pure office doesn’t appear on URA’s predominant-use list for B1 or B2 at all, which is why both need a change-of-use application, a narrow outlying-estate exception, or a tie-back to an existing industrial occupier’s own staff to count as ancillary.[5] A photography or video studio doesn’t need any of that detour. It was already written into the allowable-use list as one of the activities industrial zoning is meant to accommodate, alongside manufacturing and warehousing, not beside them as an exception.
That difference shows up in practice too. Companies like broadcast and production outfits have operated studio floors inside B1 and B2 developments for years under this category, and smaller independent photography and video studios have followed the same path into ordinary flatted factories, taking advantage of ceiling heights, loading access, and rents that shophouse or retail space doesn’t offer.
Where the Line Sits: Production Studio vs Walk-In Photo Shop
The grey zone isn’t whether cameras and lighting are involved. It’s who the studio actually serves and how the business is structured. A studio that shoots for commercial clients, brands, agencies, e-commerce sellers, production houses, is providing a production service, which is what Core Media describes. A studio that instead runs as a public-facing retail counter, walk-in portrait sittings, passport photos, photo printing and framing for consumers off the street, looks more like a Shop use under Singapore’s Planning (Use Classes) Rules, a separate category from industrial use entirely.[6]
The named Core Media examples in URA’s guidance, broadcasters, publishers, production houses, are all B2B or institutional operations, not retail counters serving the general public. That’s the pattern worth matching your own business model against. A studio with a storefront sign, open hours for walk-in customers, and a cash register for passport photos is a different animal from a studio booked by appointment for commercial shoots, even if the physical space, lights, and backdrops look identical. If your business genuinely mixes both, commercial production work plus a retail photo counter, treat the retail portion the way a showroom is treated: confined and limited, not the predominant activity.[3]
What to Verify Before Signing
Two checks matter more than the general Core Media permission itself:
- The unit’s approved-use record, not just the building’s zoning. A B1 or B2 zoning designation tells you the use category is available in principle; the specific unit’s approved use is what URA will actually check if a complaint or inspection happens. If the record says “warehouse” or “office” with no media or production description, get it corrected or submit a change-of-use enquiry before fitting out.[4][7]
- The landlord’s permitted-use clause, since some building managements restrict certain activities (loud production days, frequent visitor traffic, overnight shoots) even where URA’s zoning would allow it. This is a lease and management issue, not a planning one, and it won’t show up in any URA search.
Infrastructure That Actually Decides Whether the Unit Works
Once fit is confirmed, the practical constraints for a studio are different from most industrial tenants':
- Power capacity: lighting rigs, air conditioning for comfort during long shoot days, and camera or editing equipment draw more continuous load than the unit’s existing wiring may support. Check allocated capacity and phase before committing to a lighting plan.
- Ceiling height and column spacing: cyclorama walls, overhead rigging, and full-length product or fashion shoots need clear height and unobstructed floor area that many multi-tenant flatted factories don’t offer on every floor.
- Acoustic isolation: this runs the opposite direction from most industrial noise concerns. A studio needs quiet coming in, not just needing to avoid disturbing neighbours, so check what’s operating on the floors above, below, and beside the unit before signing.
- Loading access: sets, props, vehicles for automotive or lifestyle shoots, and client vans need a goods lift or ground-floor loading bay sized for more than pallets.
- Fire load from sets and props: temporary sets, fabric backdrops, and storage of production materials can raise the fire load of a unit beyond what a typical B1 occupier carries, which matters if the building’s fire safety certification assumed lighter ancillary storage.
| Setup | Fits as Core Media (predominant use)? | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial photo/video studio serving brands, agencies, e-commerce clients | Yes | Matches the “production” branch of Core Media: studio production, dressing rooms, location production |
| Broadcast, publishing, or production-house studio floor | Yes | Directly matches URA’s named Core Media examples |
| Walk-in portrait/passport photo counter, retail-facing | Not by default | Looks like a Shop use under the Planning (Use Classes) Rules, separate from industrial categories |
| Mixed studio with a small retail photo counter | Yes, if retail stays limited | Retail portion needs to be confined, similar to how showroom space is capped under ancillary use |
| Studio in a unit whose approved-use record still says “warehouse” or “office” | Not yet | Approved-use record needs updating even though the activity itself qualifies |
Caveats
URA’s allowable-use categories are revised periodically, and a general listing doesn’t guarantee a specific unit’s paperwork already reflects it, which is why the approved-use check matters more than the zoning rule itself. Building-level management restrictions on noise, visitor traffic, or operating hours sit outside URA’s framework entirely and can still block a studio that is fully compliant on paper. Where a studio’s revenue genuinely splits between commercial production and public retail services, get a formal read on how much retail activity the space can carry before assuming the mixed model is automatically fine.
Takeaway
A photography or video studio doing commercial production work isn’t a borderline industrial use looking for an exception. URA’s Core Media category already treats studio production as a predominant activity in B1 and B2 developments, on the same footing as manufacturing or warehousing, which is why these studios operate out of ordinary industrial floors without needing a change-of-use workaround. The real checks are narrower than the zoning question: confirm the specific unit’s approved-use record actually says so, keep any walk-in retail component limited rather than treating it as the main business, and verify power, ceiling height, acoustic isolation, and loading access before signing, since those decide whether the unit actually works for shoot days, not the planning category.
For how the 60:40 predominant-use and ancillary-use split works in general, see predominant use vs ancillary use in industrial developments and what ancillary use means for industrial property in Singapore. For the closest parallel cases of a non-obvious use testing the quantum, see can an office operate inside an industrial unit and can a gym operate in an industrial building. Before signing, run through how to check the approved use of an industrial unit before renting it.
References
[1] URA — Business 1 (Industrial): Allowable Uses. https://www.ura.gov.sg/guidelines/development-control/development-control-handbooks/non-residential/b1/allowable-uses/
[2] URA — Business 2 (Industrial): Allowable Uses. https://www.ura.gov.sg/guidelines/development-control/development-control-handbooks/non-residential/b2/allowable-uses/
[3] URA — Business 1 (Industrial): Use Quantum. https://www.ura.gov.sg/guidelines/development-control/development-control-handbooks/non-residential/b1/use-quantum/
[4] URA eService — Enquiry on Approved Use of Premises. https://eservice.ura.gov.sg/EnquiryOnApprovedUse/
[5] URA — Revised Guidelines for Supporting Uses in Industrial Developments (DC14-24). https://www.ura.gov.sg/Corporate/Guidelines/Circulars/dc14-24
[6] Singapore Statutes Online — Planning (Use Classes) Rules. https://sso.agc.gov.sg/SL/PA1998-R2?DocDate=20200529
[7] URA — Considerations for Property Use (Change of Use Assessment Criteria). https://www.ura.gov.sg/guidelines/property-and-business-owners/business-owners/change-use-of-property-for-business/assessment-criteria/
[8] GoBusiness Licensing — Change of Use Approval (URA). https://licensing.gobusiness.gov.sg/licence-directory/ura/change-of-use-approval
[9] JTC — Changing the Use of Your Industrial Property. https://www.jtc.gov.sg/get-help/managing-your-tenancy-or-lease/changing-the-use-of-your-industrial-property
[10] URA — Business 2 (Industrial): Use Quantum. https://www.ura.gov.sg/guidelines/development-control/development-control-handbooks/non-residential/b2/use-quantum/