diff --git a/rtsp.c b/rtsp.c
index 75c0b528..4b5dec46 100644
--- a/rtsp.c
+++ b/rtsp.c
@@ -871,7 +871,7 @@ void metadata_open(void) {
     char* path = malloc(pl+1);
     snprintf(path, pl+1, "%s/%s", config.meta_dir, fn);
 
-    fd = open(path, O_WRONLY);
+    fd = open(path, O_WRONLY | O_NONBLOCK);
     if (fd < 0)
         debug(1, "Could not open metadata FIFO %s. Will try again later.", path);