Belgian Entertainment Association


The Belgian Entertainment Association is the organization that represents the interests of the music, video and video game industries in Belgium. It was founded in February 2008, when three organizations merged, namely IFPI Belgium, the local chapter of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represented the music industry, the Belgian Video Federation, which represented the video industry, and the Belgian Luxembourg Interactive Software Association, 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, a non-profit organization created BEA. Due to the cultural differences in Belgium, separate charts are published for the Dutch-speaking Flanders region and the French-speaking Wallonia region. In Flanders the most important charts are the Ultratop 50 singles and the Ultratop 50 albums. In Wallonia the most important charts are the Ultratop 40 singles.

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 2007, distinguish between local, French or Dutch speaking albums, and international or non French or Dutch speaking ones. 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 and Classical 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.

List of certified albums

The following is a list of albums that have been certified by the Belgian Entertainment Association.

Gold

Two times