Storytel Officially Presents in Indonesia, Offers Curated Streaming Audiobook

Storytel, an audiobook application based in Sweden, officially launched its presence in Indonesia after announcing its plans since April 2021.

This application comes with the approach of the first Indonesian audiobook that comes at a premium because it has been seriously curated and produced.

“We are really looking forward to this opportunity, to bring Storytel services that provide the best stories using cutting-edge technology and easy for consumers to use,” said Storytel Chief Content Strategy Officer Helena Gustafsson in a virtual press conference, Wednesday (9/3).

Storytel’s long experience in audio content and outstanding customer feedback, prompted the company to take a new step in its mission to enable more people to share and enjoy stories anytime on a global scale.

Audiobook Format Assessed As Potential

Storytel Indonesia Country Manager Indriani Widyasari added that audiobooks are a meaningful recreation. The advantages of audiobooks can be enjoyed while doing other things, such as before bed or while relaxing the body.

This can certainly increase insight, opening up literacy content that usually must be read now can be enjoyed by listening.

He continued, based on previous surveys conducted by companies in other countries, they found that audiobook users had more opportunities to spend books than when just reading them.

If normally, in one month a person can finish one to three books, then with audiobooks people can read up to five books.

“Indonesia is one of the countries that are fast adapting and adopting new digital. About three to four years ago there were still many who didn’t know about podcasts, but now it has become part of their lifestyle,” said Indri.

Storytel presents more than 150 thousand audiobooks in 19 genres of books and stories in English, Indonesian and Mandarin. All of this content is produced seriously. 

The company partnered with a leading local publisher to produce a library of Indonesian language audiobooks by acquiring audio copyrights. As well as, producing their own audiobook stories by the Storytel team, called Storytel Originals. 

One of the original titles that has been released is the latest detective story about Sherlock Holmes which was made possible thanks to an agreement with the Conan Doyle Estate. It was written by the famous British writer, Anthony Horowitz.

Indri continued, the contents of the audiobook are narrated by professional sound artists who can bring stories to life through sound to escape the tiring daily routine with stories that are practical and easy for book lovers to enjoy.

Products Presented by Storytel

Exclusively, Storytel Indonesia features audiobook versions of popular book titles from well-known authors, such as Dewi Lestari, Tere Liye, Ika Natassa, Asma Nadia, Ahmad Fuadi, Pidi Baiq, and Habiburrahman El Shirazy.

Also, working with Indonesian actors and actresses to narrate audiobooks, such as Dian Sastrowardoyo, Adinia Wirasti, and Fedi Nuril.

This step is a serious concern for Storytel. The reason is, in the company’s research it is stated that 90% of users consume content on Storytel in the local language. Therefore, localization has an important role to bring users closer to books published abroad.

In addition, in the same research, it is said that 70% of the libraries at Storytel are old books that are no longer sold in physical form in bookstores. Thus, these elements create an emotional element that binds users to reminisce.

Globally, Storytel has more than 700 thousand book titles and 30 languages, including Indonesian. Its users reach more than 1.7 million people with the most enjoyed genres are detective and romance.

To enjoy the entire library on Storytel, users need to subscribe with costs starting from IDR 39 thousand per week during the launch period. The application can be downloaded through the App Store and Play Store with a minimum requirement of Android 5 and iOS 13.