diff --git a/ipod-shuffle-4g.py b/ipod-shuffle-4g.py
index f3aca4d..3128ec5 100755
--- a/ipod-shuffle-4g.py
+++ b/ipod-shuffle-4g.py
@@ -483,7 +483,7 @@ class Playlist(Record):
     def populate_pls(self, data):
         sorttracks = []
         for i in data:
-            dataarr = i.strip().split("=", 1)
+            dataarr = i.decode('utf-8').strip().split("=")
             if dataarr[0].lower().startswith("file"):
                 num = int(dataarr[0][4:])
                 filename = urllib.parse.unquote(dataarr[1]).strip()