Ultratop

Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.[1] Two parallel sets of charts are concurrently produced and published, one on behalf of Belgium's mainly Dutch-speaking Flanders region, and the other catering to the nation's mainly French-speaking region of Wallonia.

Ultratop charts

The music charts produced by Ultratop organization are separated along regional-language boundaries, an unusual division that is justified by the cultural differences in Belgium. So it is that the mainly Dutch-speaking Flanders region has one set of charts of record activity there, while the mainly French-speaking Wallonia region has another set to measure popularity in those provinces.

The charts are broadcast on several Belgian radio stations, and on TV stations TMF in Flanders and Plug RTL in Wallonia.[2]

Procedure

Ultratop creates charts based on record sales of around 500 retail outlets and legal digital downloads.[2] Currently GfK is the market observer of the charts. The chart broadcasts on Radio Contact on Saturdays from 12:00 to 14:00. The combined number of Ultratop chart listeners on the various radio or TV stations exceeds two million every week. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the charts in 2005, a jubilee book was published. It covers all 15,282 singles from 5,882 artists thus far.[2]

Ultratop 50 Singles (Flemish chart)

Ultratop 50 has existed since 31 March 1995.[3] Prior to 1995, the official weekly chart was the Radio 2 Top 30 (previously known as the BRT Top 30) broadcast by the Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT) and subsequently by the Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep Nederlandstalige Uitzendingen (BRTN) - a chart which continues to be broadcast to this day by the BRTN's successor, the Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT) (hence its alternative name, the VRT Top 30). The Ultratop 50 chart is compiled in Dutch and presented on the Belgian radio station MNM. It also used to air on the now defunct TMF Flanders, and has not been shown on television since.

Ultratop 50 Singles (Walloon chart)

The Walloon Ultratop chart began in 1995 as the Ultratop 40, ranking the forty best-selling singles in the mainly French-speaking region of Belgium.[4] On 4 September 2010, the Walloon chart was renamed Ultratop 50 as well after being increased from a 40-position into a 50-position chart.

Ultratop 200 Albums (Flemish chart)

Compiled in Dutch, it covers weekly albums sales in Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flanders region. Originally brought out as the Ultratop 50 Albums chart, it was expanded to become the Ultratop 100 Albums chart, and eventually the Ultratop 200 Albums chart.

Ultratop 200 Albums (Walloon chart)

Published in French, it covers weekly albums sales in Belgium's French-speaking Wallonia region.

Complete list of Ultratop charts

The Ultratop charts published include:

List of all Ultratop charts
Chart name Flanders Wallonia
Ultratop 50 Singles Top 50 Top 50
Ultratop 200 Albums Top 200 Top 200
Ultratop Compilations Top 20 Top 20
Ultratop Dance Top 50 Top 50
Ultratop Urban Top 50 —
Ultratop Airplay Top 30 Top 30
Ultratop Alternative Albums Top 50 —
Back Catalogue Singles Top 50 Top 50
Dance Bubbling Under Top 20 Top 20
Albums Belges / Belgische Albums Top 40 Top 20
Mid Price Top 20 Top 20
Heatseekers Albums Top 20 Top 20
Albums Classiques / Klassiek Albums Top 20 Top 20
DVD Musicaux / Muziek-DVD Top 40 Top 10
Ultratop Vlaams Top 10 —
Radio 2 Vlaams Top 10 —
Vlaams Kids Top 5 —

Ultratip

In addition to the main Ultratop 50, another weekly singles chart known as Ultratip was published until it was discontinued on 29 May 2021.[5] Also referred to as the Tipparade, it was an indicator chart of songs that had not or had not yet reached the Ultratop 50,[6] comparable to the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

Ultratip charts
  • Flanders: Ultratip Bubbling Under 100[7]
  • Wallonia: Ultratip Bubbling Under 50[8]

Streaming

Since 2016 for singles, and since July 2017 for albums, the Ultratop charts also include streaming.[9] The exact number of streams that are counted as a single or an album is undisclosed. In order to avoid inflation of album sales through raising the number of tracks, only the twelve most streamed tracks are counted. To avoid the effect of one-hit wonders, the two most streamed tracks are counted at the average of the next ten tracks.[10]

See also
  • List of number-one hits (Belgium)
  • List of best-selling Belgian music artists
  • Music of Belgium

References
  1. "LINKS - Local record industry associations" Archived 29 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. IFPI. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  2. "Ultratop Belgian Charts". Ultratop.be. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  3. "Archives on "Ultratop.be"". ultratop.be.
  4. "Whitney Houston avait conquis les Belges". 7 Sur 7. 12 February 2012.
  5. "Ultratop Stopgezette charts". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  6. "Ultratip Bubbling Under France". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 19 October 2020. Les titres n'ont pas encore atteint l'Ultratop 50, ce sont des tubes potentiels.
  7. "Ultratop Ultratip Bubbling Under". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  8. "Ultratop Ultratip Bubbling Under". ultratop.be (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  9. "Les Streamings Pris En Compte Dans Le Classement Albums Ultratop" (Press release). July 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  10. Dumon, Pieter (10 July 2017). "Hoe streaming ook de waarde van een gouden plaat bepaalt". De Morgen. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

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