diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/fluidsynth/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/fluidsynth/default.nix
index 09abaa862f5..cbed4b36181 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/fluidsynth/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/fluidsynth/default.nix
@@ -20,7 +20,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ++ lib.optionals stdenv.isLinux [ alsa-lib libpulseaudio ]
     ++ lib.optionals stdenv.isDarwin [ AudioUnit CoreAudio CoreMIDI CoreServices ];
 
-  cmakeFlags = [ "-Denable-framework=off" ];
+  cmakeFlags = [
+    "-Denable-framework=off"
+    # set CMAKE_INSTALL_NAME_DIR to correct value on darwin
+    "-DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib"
+  ];
 
   meta = with lib; {
     description = "Real-time software synthesizer based on the SoundFont 2 specifications";