diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index e0c376ec9..9a6764d9b 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 ver 0.16.4 (2011/??/??)
 * don't abort configure when avahi is not found
+* auto-detect libmad without pkg-config
 * fix memory leaks
 * don't resume playback when seeking to another song while paused
 * apply follow_inside_symlinks to absolute symlinks
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 74aef61de..4d855a70b 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -799,7 +799,8 @@ if test x$enable_gme = xyes; then
 fi
 
 dnl ---------------------------------- libmad ---------------------------------
-MPD_AUTO_PKG(mad, MAD, [mad],
+MPD_AUTO_PKG_LIB(mad, MAD, [mad],
+	mad, mad_stream_init, [-lmad], [],
 	[libmad MP3 decoder plugin], [libmad not found])
 if test x$enable_mad = xyes; then
 	AC_DEFINE(HAVE_MAD, 1, [Define to use libmad])