diff --git a/mediagoblin/db/migrations.py b/mediagoblin/db/migrations.py
index 3f43c789..b25d577d 100644
--- a/mediagoblin/db/migrations.py
+++ b/mediagoblin/db/migrations.py
@@ -190,9 +190,8 @@ def fix_CollectionItem_v0_constraint(db_conn):
 def add_license_preference(db):
     metadata = MetaData(bind=db.bind)
 
-    user_table = Table('core__users', metadata, autoload=True,
-            autoload_with=db.bind)
+    user_table = inspect_table(metadata, 'core__users')
 
-    col = Column('license_preference', Unicode, default=u'')
+    col = Column('license_preference', Unicode)
     col.create(user_table)
     db.commit()