diff --git a/beets/autotag/distance.py b/beets/autotag/distance.py
index d146c27f0..39d16858f 100644
--- a/beets/autotag/distance.py
+++ b/beets/autotag/distance.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 from jellyfish import levenshtein_distance
 from unidecode import unidecode
 
-from beets import config, plugins
+from beets import config, metadata_plugins
 from beets.util import as_string, cached_classproperty, get_most_common_tags
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -409,7 +409,7 @@ def track_distance(
         dist.add_expr("medium", item.disc != track_info.medium)
 
     # Plugins.
-    dist.update(plugins.track_distance(item, track_info))
+    dist.update(metadata_plugins.track_distance(item, track_info))
 
     return dist
 
@@ -526,6 +526,6 @@ def distance(
         dist.add("unmatched_tracks", 1.0)
 
     # Plugins.
-    dist.update(plugins.album_distance(items, album_info, mapping))
+    dist.update(metadata_plugins.album_distance(items, album_info, mapping))
 
     return dist
diff --git a/beets/test/helper.py b/beets/test/helper.py
index db753a760..4f26e8448 100644
--- a/beets/test/helper.py
+++ b/beets/test/helper.py
@@ -799,10 +799,12 @@ class AutotagStub:
 
     def install(self):
         self.patchers = [
-            patch("beets.plugins.album_for_id", lambda *_: None),
-            patch("beets.plugins.track_for_id", lambda *_: None),
-            patch("beets.plugins.candidates", self.candidates),
-            patch("beets.plugins.item_candidates", self.item_candidates),
+            patch("beets.metadata_plugins.album_for_id", lambda *_: None),
+            patch("beets.metadata_plugins.track_for_id", lambda *_: None),
+            patch("beets.metadata_plugins.candidates", self.candidates),
+            patch(
+                "beets.metadata_plugins.item_candidates", self.item_candidates
+            ),
         ]
         for p in self.patchers:
             p.start()
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index e3472b04c..e999b55d3 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -49,3 +49,8 @@ disallow_untyped_decorators = true
 disallow_any_generics = true
 check_untyped_defs = true
 allow_redefinition = true
+
+[[mypy-beets.metadata_plugins]]
+disallow_untyped_decorators = true
+disallow_any_generics = true
+check_untyped_defs = true
diff --git a/test/plugins/test_mbsync.py b/test/plugins/test_mbsync.py
index 088165ef5..bb88e5e63 100644
--- a/test/plugins/test_mbsync.py
+++ b/test/plugins/test_mbsync.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ class MbsyncCliTest(PluginTestCase):
     plugin = "mbsync"
 
     @patch(
-        "beets.plugins.album_for_id",
+        "beets.metadata_plugins.album_for_id",
         Mock(
             side_effect=lambda *_: AlbumInfo(
                 album_id="album id",
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ class MbsyncCliTest(PluginTestCase):
         ),
     )
     @patch(
-        "beets.plugins.track_for_id",
+        "beets.metadata_plugins.track_for_id",
         Mock(
             side_effect=lambda *_: TrackInfo(
                 track_id="singleton id", title="new title"
diff --git a/test/test_importer.py b/test/test_importer.py
index 9ec160568..14b163f73 100644
--- a/test/test_importer.py
+++ b/test/test_importer.py
@@ -913,7 +913,9 @@ def album_candidates_mock(*args, **kwargs):
     )
 
 
-@patch("beets.plugins.candidates", Mock(side_effect=album_candidates_mock))
+@patch(
+    "beets.metadata_plugins.candidates", Mock(side_effect=album_candidates_mock)
+)
 class ImportDuplicateAlbumTest(PluginMixin, ImportTestCase):
     plugin = "musicbrainz"
 
@@ -1031,7 +1033,10 @@ def item_candidates_mock(*args, **kwargs):
     )
 
 
-@patch("beets.plugins.item_candidates", Mock(side_effect=item_candidates_mock))
+@patch(
+    "beets.metadata_plugins.item_candidates",
+    Mock(side_effect=item_candidates_mock),
+)
 class ImportDuplicateSingletonTest(ImportTestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         super().setUp()
@@ -1567,8 +1572,14 @@ def mocked_get_track_by_id(id_):
     )
 
 
-@patch("beets.plugins.track_for_id", Mock(side_effect=mocked_get_track_by_id))
-@patch("beets.plugins.album_for_id", Mock(side_effect=mocked_get_album_by_id))
+@patch(
+    "beets.metadata_plugins.track_for_id",
+    Mock(side_effect=mocked_get_track_by_id),
+)
+@patch(
+    "beets.metadata_plugins.album_for_id",
+    Mock(side_effect=mocked_get_album_by_id),
+)
 class ImportIdTest(ImportTestCase):
     ID_RELEASE_0 = "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"
     ID_RELEASE_1 = "11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111"
diff --git a/test/test_ui.py b/test/test_ui.py
index 713e69891..664323e2a 100644
--- a/test/test_ui.py
+++ b/test/test_ui.py
@@ -1024,7 +1024,9 @@ class ConfigTest(TestPluginTestCase):
             file.write("plugins: test")
 
         self.run_command("--config", self.cli_config_path, "plugin", lib=None)
-        assert plugins.find_plugins()[0].is_test_plugin
+        plugs = plugins.find_plugins()
+        assert len(plugs) == 1
+        assert plugs[0].is_test_plugin
         self.unload_plugins()
 
     def test_beetsdir_config(self):