Ultratop, the organisation behind the charts of the same name, will receive the Sector Lifetime Achievement Award during the Music Industry Awards (MIA's) on Thursday 6 February in Paleis 12.

With this award, the VRT and Poppunt pay tribute to a person or organisation that has made an important contribution to the support and development of the Flemish music sector.

Ultratop, founded in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian music industry, aims to create the best possible charts to help promote music.

The Sector Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented by Flemish Minister of Brussels, Youth and Media Benjamin Dalle.

Sam Jaspers, Director Ultratop: "The Ultratop charts, with the site extended, have become a guide and objective reference for the music industry, the media and the public over the past 25 years.

A guideline at a time when the music experience is increasingly fragmented. It is an incredible honor to get that recognition with this MIA.

It also feels like a personal crowning achievement because I was there from the start and it’s been an amazing journey”.

Patrick Guns, chairman of the board of directors Ultratop and general manager Universal Music: "For 25 years now, Ultratop has been providing weekly and reliable coverage of the most successful songs and artists in Flanders and Wallonia.

For every artist it is a dream to be number 1 on this list one day and for us as a music company the Ultratop charts remain an indispensable working tool and an important promotional tool".

The only official Belgian hit parade

Ultratop, the only official Belgian hit parade, is based on the measurement of physical store sales, downloads, streams and airplay, via partners GfK and Radiomonitor.

The data is objectively mapped to accurately determine which music is most popular in Belgium.

Since their inception in Flanders, the charts have been broadcast on the VRT radio networks and on the RTL stations in Wallonia.

Highly visited website

In the first decade the charts appeared every week in a free newspaper in the record store, but since then everything can be followed online and the website www.ultratop.be became one of the most visited music sites in the country.

Besides the weekly lists (singles, albums, Flemish, dance, urban, classical, compilations) the site also contains a lot of extra information such as hit lists per artist, information about author/composer/producer, labels, release date, covers, sound clips, golden records, blogs, foreign charts, streaming playlists and charts from 1954 onwards.

The MIA's will be held on Thursday evening February 6th. The awards show can be seen live on Eén and can be attended by the public at Paleis 12 in Brussels. Tickets are available via www.mias.be or www.paleis12.com.

The MIA's is an initiative of the VRT and Poppunt.