diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index f7026c5fc..dfe358513 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -1006,6 +1006,9 @@ EXTRA_DIST += $(SYMDEF_FILES)
 BUILT_SOURCES += $(SYMDEF_FILES)
 
 $(SYMDEF_FILES): modules/module-defs.h.m4
+	mkdir modules
+	mkdir modules/gconf
+	mkdir modules/rtp
 	$(M4) -Dfname="$@" $< > $@
 
 # Simple protocol