diff --git a/neon_audio/tts/neon.py b/neon_audio/tts/neon.py
index 3f0f01f..019835f 100644
--- a/neon_audio/tts/neon.py
+++ b/neon_audio/tts/neon.py
@@ -217,8 +217,11 @@ def _init_playback(self, playback_thread: NeonPlaybackThread = None):
         TTS.playback.attach_tts(self)
         if not TTS.playback.enclosure:
             TTS.playback.enclosure = EnclosureAPI(self.bus)
-        if not TTS.playback.is_running:
-            TTS.playback.start()
+        if not TTS.playback.is_alive():
+            try:
+                TTS.playback.start()
+            except RuntimeError:
+                LOG.exception("Error starting the playback thread")
 
     def _get_tts(self, sentence: str, request: dict = None, **kwargs):
         # TODO: Signature should be made to match ovos-audio