diff --git a/beets/util/__init__.py b/beets/util/__init__.py
index e169b1f72..e92f1a83b 100644
--- a/beets/util/__init__.py
+++ b/beets/util/__init__.py
@@ -797,7 +797,6 @@ def _windows_long_path_name(short_path):
     long path given a short filename.
     """
     if not isinstance(short_path, unicode):
-        short_path = unicode(short_path)
         short_path = short_path.decode(_fsencoding())
 
     import ctypes