diff --git a/beets/player/gstplayer.py b/beets/player/gstplayer.py
index fe763cec6..e2ac6837e 100755
--- a/beets/player/gstplayer.py
+++ b/beets/player/gstplayer.py
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ class GstPlayer(object):
         path.
         """
         self.player.set_state(gst.STATE_NULL)
-        self.player.set_property("uri", "file://" + path)
+        self.player.set_property("uri", ("file://" + path).encode('utf-8'))
         self.player.set_state(gst.STATE_PLAYING)
         self.playing = True