diff --git a/src/lib/appdata.py b/src/lib/appdata.py
index e85fb396..00760884 100644
--- a/src/lib/appdata.py
+++ b/src/lib/appdata.py
@@ -91,7 +91,8 @@ def add_release(
 
     # Indent the opening <description> tag one level
     # deeper than the <release> tag.
-    release.text = "\n" + ((releases.text[1::2]) * 3)
+    if releases.text:
+        release.text = "\n" + ((releases.text[1::2]) * 3)
 
     # Indent the closing </release> tag by the same amount as the opening
     # <release> tag (which we know to be the first child of <releases> since