diff --git a/master/buildbot/buildbot_net_usage_data.py b/master/buildbot/buildbot_net_usage_data.py
index dbe6c2510c0..f73495ce3f2 100644
--- a/master/buildbot/buildbot_net_usage_data.py
+++ b/master/buildbot/buildbot_net_usage_data.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 
 from __future__ import absolute_import
 from __future__ import print_function
-from future.moves import urllib
+from future.moves.urllib import error as urllib_error
 from future.moves.urllib import request as urllib_request
 
 import hashlib
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ def computeUsageData(master):
 
 
 def _sendWithUrlib(url, data):
-    data = json.dumps(data)
+    data = json.dumps(data).encode()
     clen = len(data)
     req = urllib_request.Request(url, data, {
         'Content-Type': 'application/json',
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ def _sendWithUrlib(url, data):
     })
     try:
         f = urllib_request.urlopen(req)
-    except urllib.error.URLError:
+    except urllib_error.URLError:
         return None
     res = f.read()
     f.close()
diff --git a/master/buildbot/newsfragments/urllib-error-import.bugfix b/master/buildbot/newsfragments/urllib-error-import.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cd7db5b28ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/master/buildbot/newsfragments/urllib-error-import.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Make :py:class:`future.moves.urllib.error.URLError` available in the
+:py:mod:`buildbot_net_usage_data` module.  Fixes an exception found in
+:py:func:`~buildbot_net_usage_data._sendWithUrlib` when running through the
+tutorial using Python 3.
diff --git a/master/buildbot/test/unit/test_buildbot_net_usage_data.py b/master/buildbot/test/unit/test_buildbot_net_usage_data.py
index e8c54c4fb9f..b8ffaa206b9 100644
--- a/master/buildbot/test/unit/test_buildbot_net_usage_data.py
+++ b/master/buildbot/test/unit/test_buildbot_net_usage_data.py
@@ -133,7 +133,8 @@ def close(self):
         self.assertEqual(len(open_url), 1)
         self.assertEqual(open_url[0].request.args,
                          ('https://events.buildbot.net/events/phone_home',
-                          '{"foo": "bar"}', {'Content-Length': 14, 'Content-Type': 'application/json'}))
+                          b'{"foo": "bar"}',
+                          {'Content-Length': 14, 'Content-Type': 'application/json'}))
 
     def test_real(self):
         if "TEST_BUILDBOTNET_USAGEDATA" not in os.environ: