Storytel operates in over 25 markets and runs one of the world's largest audiobook streaming catalogues. Publishers submit titles through their publisher portal, and before anything goes live, Storytel validates the metadata against a fixed checklist. Missing or incorrect fields mean the title goes into manual review — which can mean weeks of delay.
Storytel accepts ONIX 3.0 (or Excel). These fields must all be present and correctly structured for a title to pass their validation:
For audiobooks, the narrator must be listed as a separate contributor with the correct ONIX role code. Omitting it or merging it with the author record will fail Storytel's validation.
If there are several authors, narrators, or translators, each must appear as a separate contributor entry in the ONIX file. A single comma-separated string won't parse correctly.
Storytel now requires explicit flagging when a narrator, author, or translation is AI-generated. Titles that arrive without this disclosure are rejected or held for manual review.
Authors, narrators, and translators each get their own entry with the correct ONIX contributor role code. Multiple contributors are handled without manual XML editing.
Storytel prefers Thema genre codes. Onix Creator includes the full Thema code list in the subject field so you can select the right classification without looking it up separately.
All required fields are checked before you can download the file. Territory, contributor roles, language — flagged and explained if missing, not discovered after submission.
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