Ultratop
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Ultratop-logo-2022.png/200px-Ultratop-logo-2022.png)
Ultratopis an organization which generates and publishes the officialrecord chartsinBelgium.Ultratop is anon-profit organization,created in 1995 on the initiative of theBelgian Entertainment Association(BEA), the Belgian member organization of theInternational 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-speakingFlandersregion, and the other catering to the nation's mainly French-speaking region ofWallonia.
Ultratop charts
[edit]The music charts produced by Ultratop organization are separated along regional-language boundaries, an unusual division that is justified by thecultural differences in Belgium.So it is that the mainly Dutch-speakingFlandersregion has one set of charts of record activity there, while the mainly French-speakingWalloniaregion has another set to measure popularity in those provinces.
The charts are broadcast on several Belgian radio stations, and on TV stationsTMF in FlandersandPlug RTLin Wallonia.[2]
Procedure
[edit]Ultratop creates charts based on record sales of around 500 retail outlets and legal digital downloads.[2]CurrentlyGfKis the market observer of the charts. The chart broadcasts onRadio Contacton 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]
Prominent charts
[edit]Ultratop 50 Singles (Flemish chart)
[edit]Ultratop 50 has existed since 31 March 1995.[3]Prior to 1995, the officialIFPI Belgiumcharts 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 theRadio 2 Top 30(previously known as theBRT Top 30) and which was broadcast byVRT,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 bookHet Belgisch hitboek: 45 jaar hits in Vlaanderen: 1954-1999by 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 stationMNM.It also used to air on the now defunctTMF Flanders,and has not been shown on television since.
Ultratop 50 Singles (Walloon chart)
[edit]The Walloon Ultratop chart began in 1995 as theUltratop 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 renamedUltratop 50as well, after the ranking list increased from a total of 40 to 50 songs.
Ultratop 200 Albums (Flemish chart)
[edit]Compiled in Dutch, it covers weekly albums sales in Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flanders region. Originally brought out as theUltratop 50 Albumschart, it was expanded to become theUltratop 100 Albumschart, and eventually theUltratop 200 Albumschart.
Ultratop 200 Albums (Walloon chart)
[edit]Published in French, it covers weekly albums sales in Belgium's French-speaking Wallonia region.
Complete list of Ultratop charts
[edit]The Ultratop charts published include:
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 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 | — |
Ultratip
[edit]In addition to the main Ultratop 50, another weekly singles chart known asUltratiporUltratip Bubbling Underwas published until it was discontinued on 29 May 2021.[11]Also referred to as theTipparade,it was an indicator chart of songs that had not or had not yet reached the Ultratop 50,[12]comparable to the USBubbling Under Hot 100chart.
Ultratip charts
[edit]Streaming
[edit]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 ofone-hit wonders,the two most streamed tracks are counted at the average of the next ten tracks.[16]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"LINKS – Local record industry associations"Archived29 June 2009 at theWayback Machine.IFPI.Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ^abc"Ultratop Belgian Charts".Ultratop.be.ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.Retrieved31 May2010.
- ^"Archives on" Ultratop.be "".ultratop.be.
- ^Maes, Marc (8 January 1994)."Belgium Prepares To Regionalise Its Chart"(PDF).Music & Media.pp. 1 and 20.Retrieved4 March2023.
- ^Maes, Marc (31 January 1987)."Belgian BRT Faces Changes"(PDF).Music & Media.pp. 1 and 3.Retrieved4 March2023.
- ^Maes, Marc (23 January 1999)."Radio 2 charting a new course in Flanders"(PDF).Music & Media.p. 5.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^Maes, Marc (27 January 2001)."Public-private deal for TMF, VRT"(PDF).Music & Media.p. 6.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^"C-Dance Airs Ultratop Chart"(PDF).Music & Media.29 June 2002. p. 4.Retrieved5 March2023.
- ^Collin, Robert (1999).Het Belgisch hitboek: 45 jaar hits in Vlaanderen: 1954-1999.Vox.ISBN9076695016.
Dec 54 - Mar 56: Songparade; Apr 56 - Dec 65: Juke-Box; Jan 66 - Apr 70: Humo; May 70 - Mar 81: Compilation Humo/BRT-Top 30; from Apr 81 Compilation-List Humo / Ultrapop VRT /Jopie
- ^"Whitney Houston avait conquis les Belges".7 Sur 7.12 February 2012.
- ^"Ultratop Stopgezette charts".ultratop.be(in Dutch).Retrieved7 June2021.
- ^"Ultratip Bubbling Under France".Ultratop.be.Retrieved19 October2020.
Les titres n'ont pas encore atteint l'Ultratop 50, ce sont des tubes potentiels.
- ^"Ultratop Ultratip Bubbling Under".ultratop.be(in Dutch).Retrieved21 September2020.
- ^"Ultratop Ultratip Bubbling Under".ultratop.be(in French).Retrieved21 September2020.
- ^"Les Streamings Pris En Compte Dans Le Classement Albums Ultratop"(Press release). July 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 8 May 2020.Retrieved20 August2021.
- ^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.Retrieved20 August2021.
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External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website(in Dutch)
- Official website(in French)
- Charts archive(Flanders, from 1956 to 2011)
- Charts archive(Walloon, from 1996 to 2011)