diff --git a/utils/scanpypi b/utils/scanpypi
index 1f3326cf4d..17d8a0017a 100755
--- a/utils/scanpypi
+++ b/utils/scanpypi
@@ -690,7 +690,7 @@ def main():
             try:
                 package.load_setup()
             except ImportError as err:
-                if 'buildutils' in err.message:
+                if 'buildutils' in str(err):
                     print('This package needs buildutils')
                 else:
                     raise