diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/release/source-tarball.nix b/pkgs/build-support/release/source-tarball.nix
index 46f94994be3..be0345df939 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/release/source-tarball.nix
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/release/source-tarball.nix
@@ -109,6 +109,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (
 
     meta = (if args ? meta then args.meta else {}) // {
       description = "Build of a source distribution from a checkout";
+
+      # Tarball builds are generally important, so give them a high
+      # default priority.
+      schedulingPriority = "200";
     };
   }