diff --git a/picard/compat.py b/picard/compat.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..02fa5a8a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/picard/compat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+#
+# Picard, the next-generation MusicBrainz tagger
+# Copyright (C) 2014 Johannes Dewender
+#
+# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+# modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+# as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
+# of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+# Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+
+"""Python 2/3 compatibility"""
+
+import sys
+
+is_py2 = (sys.version_info[0] == 2)
+is_py3 = (sys.version_info[0] == 3)
+
+if is_py2:
+    from StringIO import StringIO
+else:
+    from io import StringIO
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index c5ddf2e66..9f4d6a72b 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -7,12 +7,7 @@ import os
 import re
 import sys
 import subprocess
-from picard import __version__
-
-try:
-    from StringIO import StringIO
-except ImportError:
-    from io import StringIO
+from picard import __version__, compat
 
 if sys.version_info < (2, 6):
     print("*** You need Python 2.6 or higher to use Picard.")
@@ -328,7 +323,7 @@ class picard_build_ui(Command):
 
         def compile_ui(uifile, pyfile):
             log.info("compiling %s -> %s", uifile, pyfile)
-            tmp = StringIO()
+            tmp = compat.StringIO()
             uic.compileUi(uifile, tmp)
             source = tmp.getvalue()
             rc = re.compile(r'\n\n#.*?(?=\n\n)', re.MULTILINE|re.DOTALL)