diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index f6d11addbe..54196db671 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = dist-bzip2
+
 SUBDIRS = source parser generator elementgen gstreamer-sharp doc tests samples
 
 pkgconfigdir = $(libdir)/pkgconfig