diff --git a/beets/importer.py b/beets/importer.py
index 0c53b8da7..458039482 100644
--- a/beets/importer.py
+++ b/beets/importer.py
@@ -294,6 +294,7 @@ class ImportSession(object):
         pl = pipeline.Pipeline(stages)
 
         # Run the pipeline.
+        plugins.send('import_begin', session=self)
         try:
             if config['threaded']:
                 pl.run_parallel(QUEUE_SIZE)
diff --git a/beetsplug/discogs.py b/beetsplug/discogs.py
index b12802c6a..234d9b6cd 100644
--- a/beetsplug/discogs.py
+++ b/beetsplug/discogs.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # This file is part of beets.
-# Copyright 2013, Adrian Sampson.
+# Copyright 2014, Adrian Sampson.
 #
 # Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
 # a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
@@ -46,7 +46,12 @@ class DiscogsPlugin(BeetsPlugin):
             'tokenfile': 'discogs_token.json',
             'source_weight': 0.5,
         })
+        self.discogs_client = None
+        self.register_listener('import_begin', self.setup)
 
+    def setup(self):
+        """Create the `discogs_client` field. Authenticate if necessary.
+        """
         c_key = self.config['apikey'].get(unicode)
         c_secret = self.config['apisecret'].get(unicode)
 
@@ -102,6 +107,9 @@ class DiscogsPlugin(BeetsPlugin):
         """Returns a list of AlbumInfo objects for discogs search results
         matching an album and artist (if not various).
         """
+        if not self.discogs_client:
+            return
+
         if va_likely:
             query = album
         else:
@@ -119,6 +127,9 @@ class DiscogsPlugin(BeetsPlugin):
         """Fetches an album by its Discogs ID and returns an AlbumInfo object
         or None if the album is not found.
         """
+        if not self.discogs_client:
+            return
+
         log.debug(u'Searching Discogs for release {0}'.format(str(album_id)))
         # Discogs-IDs are simple integers. We only look for those at the end
         # of an input string as to avoid confusion with other metadata plugins.
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index 0f4c908ab..5dfc0c5ae 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ Fixed:
 
 * Fix a new crash with the latest version of Mutagen (1.26).
 * We now print a better error message when the database file is corrupted.
+* :doc:`/plugins/discogs`: Only prompt for authentication when running the
+  :ref:`import-cmd` command. :bug:`1123`
 
 .. _Plex: https://plex.tv/
 
diff --git a/docs/dev/plugins.rst b/docs/dev/plugins.rst
index 07758adf8..c79d49645 100644
--- a/docs/dev/plugins.rst
+++ b/docs/dev/plugins.rst
@@ -183,6 +183,9 @@ currently available are:
 * *cli_exit*: called just before the ``beet`` command-line program exits.
   Parameter: ``lib``.
 
+* *import_begin*: called just before a ``beet import`` session starts up.
+  Parameter: ``session``.
+
 The included ``mpdupdate`` plugin provides an example use case for event listeners.
 
 Extend the Autotagger
diff --git a/docs/plugins/discogs.rst b/docs/plugins/discogs.rst
index 7c263f324..48332864e 100644
--- a/docs/plugins/discogs.rst
+++ b/docs/plugins/discogs.rst
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ To use the ``discogs`` plugin, first enable it in your configuration (see
     pip install discogs-client
 
 You will also need to register for a `Discogs`_ account. The first time you
-run beets after enabling the plugin, it will ask you to authorize with Discogs
-by visiting the site in a browser. Subsequent runs will not require
-re-authorization.
+run the :ref:`import-cmd` command after enabling the plugin, it will ask you
+to authorize with Discogs by visiting the site in a browser. Subsequent runs
+will not require re-authorization.
 
 Matches from Discogs will now show up during import alongside matches from
 MusicBrainz.