diff --git a/libs/ardour/vst_search_path.cc b/libs/ardour/vst_search_path.cc
index 032bce355d..a6b326da43 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/vst_search_path.cc
+++ b/libs/ardour/vst_search_path.cc
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 
 namespace ARDOUR {
 
-char*
+const char*
 vst_search_path ()
 {
 	DWORD dwType = REG_SZ;