diff --git a/src/cogs/ytdl.py b/src/cogs/ytdl.py
index 0b631ad..f36a294 100644
--- a/src/cogs/ytdl.py
+++ b/src/cogs/ytdl.py
@@ -334,7 +334,8 @@ class YTDLCog(commands.Cog):
             options["paths"] = paths
 
             if subtitles:
-                subtitles, burn = subtitles.split("+", 1) if "+" in subtitles else (subtitles, False)
+                subtitles, burn = subtitles.split("+", 1) if "+" in subtitles else (subtitles, "0")
+                burn = burn[0].lower() in ("y", "1", "t")
                 if subtitles.lower() == "auto":
                     options["writeautosubtitles"] = True
                 else: