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Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts. 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. Two parallel set of charts are concurrently produced and published, one on behalf of Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flanders region, and the other catering to the nation's French-speaking region of Wallonia.
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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 Dutch-speaking Flanders region has one set of charts of record activity there, while the 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.
Procedure
Ultratop creates charts based on record sales of around 500 retail outlets and legal digital downloads. 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.
Ultratop 50 Singles (Flemish chart)
The Flemish Ultratop 50 chart has existed since 31 March 1995. 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 as well as on TMF Flanders television.
Ultratop 50 Singles (Walloon chart)
The Walloon Ultratop chart began in 1995 as the Ultratop 40, ranking the forty best-selling singles in the French-speaking region of Belgium. 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:
Ultratip
In addition to the main Ultratop 50, another weekly singles chart known as Ultratip is published. Also referred to as the Tipparade, it is an indicator chart of commercially available singles, with chart positions based on a combination of sales and airplay, i.e., the number of times a song is played on the radio or television, coupled with the calculated audience size for each station, region and language.
Ultratip differs from the Ultratop charts, in that it depends on both airplay and sales, whereas Ultratop charts are based solely on sales. However, it should be noted that a song cannot chart on the Ultratip chart on airplay figures alone.