diff --git a/beetsplug/lyrics.py b/beetsplug/lyrics.py
index 50761ed6f..448399fe0 100644
--- a/beetsplug/lyrics.py
+++ b/beetsplug/lyrics.py
@@ -85,8 +85,11 @@ def unescape(text):
 
 
 def extract_text_between(html, start_marker, end_marker):
-    _, html = html.split(start_marker, 1)
-    html, _ = html.split(end_marker, 1)
+    try:
+        _, html = html.split(start_marker, 1)
+        html, _ = html.split(end_marker, 1)
+    except ValueError:
+        return u''
     return _scrape_strip_cruft(html, True)