diff --git a/ext/lame/gstlamemp3enc.c b/ext/lame/gstlamemp3enc.c
index f2269fe7dc..0128a6f9ab 100644
--- a/ext/lame/gstlamemp3enc.c
+++ b/ext/lame/gstlamemp3enc.c
@@ -602,7 +602,7 @@ gst_lamemp3enc_setup (GstLameMP3Enc * lame, GstTagList ** tags)
   if (lame->lgf == NULL)
     return FALSE;
 
-  *tags = gst_tag_list_new ();
+  *tags = gst_tag_list_new_empty ();
 
   /* copy the parameters over */
   lame_set_in_samplerate (lame->lgf, lame->samplerate);