diff --git a/beetsplug/echonest_tempo.py b/beetsplug/echonest_tempo.py
index bdfc8ac21..b010c8763 100644
--- a/beetsplug/echonest_tempo.py
+++ b/beetsplug/echonest_tempo.py
@@ -15,10 +15,10 @@
 """Gets tempo (bpm) for imported music from the EchoNest API. Requires
 the pyechonest library (https://github.com/echonest/pyechonest).
 """
+import time
 import logging
 from beets.plugins import BeetsPlugin
 from beets import ui
-from beets.ui import commands
 from beets import config
 import pyechonest.config
 import pyechonest.song
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ import pyechonest.song
 # Global logger.
 log = logging.getLogger('beets')
 
+RETRY_INTERVAL = 10  # Seconds.
+RETRIES = 10
+
 def fetch_item_tempo(lib, loglevel, item, write):
     """Fetch and store tempo for a single item. If ``write``, then the
     tempo will also be written to the file itself in the bpm field. The 
@@ -54,12 +57,27 @@ def fetch_item_tempo(lib, loglevel, item, write):
 
 def get_tempo(artist, title):
     """Get the tempo for a song."""
-    # Unfortunately, all we can do is search by artist and title. EchoNest
-    # supports foreign ids from MusicBrainz, but currently only for artists,
-    # not individual tracks/recordings.
-    results = pyechonest.song.search(
-        artist=artist, title=title, results=1, buckets=['audio_summary']
-    )
+    for i in range(RETRIES):
+        try:
+            # Unfortunately, all we can do is search by artist and title.
+            # EchoNest supports foreign ids from MusicBrainz, but currently
+            # only for artists, not individual tracks/recordings.
+            results = pyechonest.song.search(
+                artist=artist, title=title, results=1, buckets=['audio_summary']
+            )
+        except pyechonest.util.EchoNestAPIError as e:
+            if e.code == 3:
+                # Rate limit exceeded.
+                if i >= RETRIES - 1:
+                    # Waited too many times already.
+                    log.debug(u'echonest_tempo: exceeded retries')
+                    return None
+                else:
+                    # Wait and try again.
+                    time.sleep(RETRY_INTERVAL)
+        else:
+            break
+
     if len(results) > 0:
         return results[0].audio_summary['tempo']
     else:
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index 8863e7ed0..40a682774 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ This release entirely revamps beets' configuration system.
 1.0rc2 (in development)
 -----------------------
 
+* :doc:`/plugins/echonest_tempo`: If the Echo Nest API limit is exceeded, the
+  plugin now waits and tries again instead of crashing. Thanks to Zach Denton.
 * :doc:`/plugins/fetchart`: Fix a regression that caused crashes when art was
   not available from some sources.
 * Fix a regression on Windows that caused all relative paths to be "not found".