diff --git a/src/idnode.c b/src/idnode.c
index bb8833bb..bdf57bc6 100644
--- a/src/idnode.c
+++ b/src/idnode.c
@@ -638,7 +638,7 @@ idnode_serialize0(idnode_t *self, int optmask)
   uuid = idnode_uuid_as_str(self);
   htsmsg_add_str(m, "uuid", uuid);
   htsmsg_add_str(m, "id",   uuid);
-  htsmsg_add_str(m, "text", idnode_get_title(self));
+  htsmsg_add_str(m, "text", idnode_get_title(self) ?: "");
 
   htsmsg_add_msg(m, "params", idnode_params(idc, self, optmask));