diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 1f835fd976..8a0a6840f4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ COMMON_CONSTRAINTS_TXT=requirements/common_constraints.txt
 .PHONY: $(COMMON_CONSTRAINTS_TXT)
 $(COMMON_CONSTRAINTS_TXT):
 	wget -O "$(@)" https://raw.githubusercontent.com/edx/edx-lint/master/edx_lint/files/common_constraints.txt || touch "$(@)"
-	echo "$(COMMON_CONSTRAINTS_TEMP_COMMENT)" | cat - $(@) > temp && mv temp $(@)
+	printf "$(COMMON_CONSTRAINTS_TEMP_COMMENT)" | cat - $(@) > temp && mv temp $(@)
 
 compile-requirements: export CUSTOM_COMPILE_COMMAND=make upgrade
 compile-requirements: pre-requirements $(COMMON_CONSTRAINTS_TXT) ## Re-compile *.in requirements to *.txt