Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 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 is on behalf of Belgium's mainly Dutch-speaking Flanders region, and the other catering to the nation's mainly French-speaking region of Wallonia.
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]
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 has existed since 31 March 1995.[3] Prior to 1995, the official IFPI Belgium charts which covered both the French speaking part of Belgium (Wallonia) and the Dutch speaking part of Belgium (Flanders) were compiled based on shipments from distributors to retailers and not on sales from retailers to customers. However, this chart coexisted with a weekly Flemish chart that was based on actual sales from retailers to customers known as the Radio 2 Top 30 (previously known as the BRT Top 30) and which was broadcast by VRT, also known as BRT.[4] [5] After Ultratop started publishing the official charts in 1995, Radio 2 started publishing and broadcasting the Ultratop charts.[6] [7] [8] The charts archived on the Ultratop website from before when Ultratop started compiling the charts in 1995 are taken from the book Het Belgisch hitboek: 45 jaar hits in Vlaanderen: 1954-1999 by Robert Collin which in turn uses a variety of sources.[9]
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.
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.[10] The predecessor prior to Ultratop was a nationwide (unified) Belgian chart which began to be compiled in 1961. On 4 September 2010, the Ultratop 40 was renamed Ultratop 50 as well, after the ranking list increased from a total of 40 to 50 songs.
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.
Published in French, it covers weekly albums sales in Belgium's French-speaking Wallonia region.
The Ultratop charts published include:
| 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 R&B/Hip-Hop | Top 50 | 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 |
In addition to the main Ultratop 50, another weekly singles chart known as Ultratip or Ultratip Bubbling Under was published until it was discontinued on 29 May 2021.[11] Also referred to as the Tipparade, it was an indicator chart of songs that had not or had not yet reached the Ultratop 50,[12] comparable to the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
Since 2016 for singles, and since July 2017 for albums, the Ultratop charts also include streaming.[15] 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.[16]