diff --git a/beets/ui/__init__.py b/beets/ui/__init__.py
index 488974dee..621f150ee 100644
--- a/beets/ui/__init__.py
+++ b/beets/ui/__init__.py
@@ -746,7 +746,12 @@ def _raw_main(args):
     from beets.ui.commands import default_commands
 
     # Add plugin paths.
+    import beetsplug
+    beetsplug.__path__ = get_plugin_paths() + beetsplug.__path__
+
+    # For backwards compatibility
     sys.path += get_plugin_paths()
+
     # Load requested plugins.
     plugins.load_plugins(config['plugins'].as_str_seq())
     plugins.send("pluginload")
diff --git a/docs/reference/config.rst b/docs/reference/config.rst
index 482f51e2f..c61d46784 100644
--- a/docs/reference/config.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/config.rst
@@ -55,11 +55,11 @@ includes the BPD plugin for playing music.
 pluginpath
 ~~~~~~~~~~
 
-Directories to search for plugins.  These paths are just added to ``sys.path``
-before the plugins are loaded. (The plugins still have to be contained in a
-``beetsplug`` namespace package.) This can either be a single string or a list
-of strings---so, if you have multiple paths, format them as a YAML list like
-so::
+Directories to search for plugins.  Each Python file or directory in a plugin
+path represents a plugin and should define a subclass of :class:`BeetsPlugin`.
+A plugin can then be loaded by adding the filename to the `plugins` configuration.
+The plugin path can either be a single string or a list of strings---so, if you
+have multiple paths, format them as a YAML list like so::
 
     pluginpath:
         - /path/one
diff --git a/test/rsrc/beetsplug/test.py b/test/rsrc/beetsplug/test.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..296d522ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/rsrc/beetsplug/test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+from beets.plugins import BeetsPlugin
+from beets import ui
+
+class TestPlugin(BeetsPlugin):
+    def __init__(self):
+        super(TestPlugin, self).__init__()
+
+    def commands(self):
+        cmd = ui.Subcommand('test')
+        cmd.func = lambda *args: None
+        return [cmd]
diff --git a/test/test_ui.py b/test/test_ui.py
index b6c13fb7f..041021d80 100644
--- a/test/test_ui.py
+++ b/test/test_ui.py
@@ -666,6 +666,12 @@ class PathFormatTest(_common.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(tmpl.original, 'bar')
         self.assertEqual(pf[1:], default_formats)
 
+class PluginTest(_common.TestCase):
+    def test_plugin_command_from_pluginpath(self):
+        config['pluginpath'] = [os.path.join(_common.RSRC, 'beetsplug')]
+        config['plugins'] = ['test']
+        ui._raw_main(['test'])
+
 def suite():
     return unittest.TestLoader().loadTestsFromName(__name__)