diff --git a/tubesync/sync/youtube.py b/tubesync/sync/youtube.py
index 6911eabd..2a8de68f 100644
--- a/tubesync/sync/youtube.py
+++ b/tubesync/sync/youtube.py
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ def _subscriber_only(msg='', response=None):
     else:
         # ignore msg entirely
         try:
-            data = json.loads(response)
+            data = json.loads(str(response))
         except (TypeError, ValueError, AttributeError):
             return False