diff --git a/beets/ui/__init__.py b/beets/ui/__init__.py
index d550d05a4..6b4449d0d 100644
--- a/beets/ui/__init__.py
+++ b/beets/ui/__init__.py
@@ -695,6 +695,7 @@ class SubcommandsOptionParser(optparse.OptionParser):
         return options, subcommand, suboptions, subargs
 
 
+optparse.Option.ALWAYS_TYPED_ACTIONS += ('callback',)
 def vararg_callback(option, opt_str, value, parser):
     """Callback for an option with variable arguments.
     Manually collect arguments right of a callback-action