The Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) is the organization that represents the interests of the music, video

Film industry

The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...

 and video game industries in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. It was founded in February 2008, when three organizations merged, namely IFPI Belgium, the local chapter of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represented the music industry, the Belgian Video Federation (BVF), which represented the video industry, and the Belgian Luxembourg Interactive Software Association (BLISA), which represented the video game industry. BEA is listed as the local record industry association in Belgium by the IFPI.

Sales charts

The publication of sales charts in Belgium is done through Ultratop

Ultratop

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...

, a non-profit organization created BEA. Due to the cultural differences in Belgium

Culture of Belgium

A discussion of Belgian culture requires the language and what they eat discussing both those aspects of cultural life shared by 'all' or most of the Belgians, regardless of what language they speak, and also, the differences between the main cultural communities: the Flemish people from...

, separate charts are published for the Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

-speaking Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 region and the French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

-speaking Wallonia region. In Flanders the most important charts are the Ultratop 50 singles

Ultratop 50

Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...

 and the Ultratop 50 albums. In Wallonia the most important charts are the Ultratop 40 singles

Ultratop 40

Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization...

.

Certifications

Through Ultratop, BEA certifies albums, singles and DVDs. The thresholds are as follows.

Albums and singles

The current thresholds for albums, in effect at least since April 2008, distinguish between local, French or Dutch speaking albums ("domestic"), and international or non French or Dutch speaking ones ("international"). For domestic repertoire the threshold for Gold album is 10,000 units and the threshold for Platinum is 20,000 units. For international repertoire the threshold for Gold is 15,000 units and the threshold for Platinum is 30,000. Jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and Classical

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

repertoire shares the thresholds with the domestic repertoire. The same levels apply for singles as well.

The IFPI award certification list of October 2007 lists the same thresholds for albums, but older thresholds for singles. For domestic repertoire the threshold for Gold single was 15,000 units and the threshold for Platinum single was 30,000 units. For international repertoire the threshold for Gold was 25,000 units and the threshold for Platinum was 50,000 units. An earlier list from the beginning of 2006 lists these older thresholds for albums as well.

DVDs

The current thresholds for DVDs distinguish between Belgian products sold in one locality, Belgian products sold nationwide, and foreign products. For Belgian-local products, the thresholds are 7,500 units for Gold, 15,500 units for Platinum and 25,500 units for Diamond. For Belgian-nationwide products, the thresholds are 15,000 units for Gold, 30,000 units for Platinum and 50,000 units for Diamond. For foreign products, the thresholds are 25,000 units for Gold, 50,000 units for Platinum and 100,000 units for Diamond. The same levels are listed since at least October 2007.

Archive

An archive of past certifications going back to 1997 is available at the Ultratop website.