diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c39e889a..617ece17 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [[0.11.16]](https://github.com/thoth-pub/thoth/releases/tag/v0.11.16) - 2024-02-19
 ### Changed
+  - [499](https://github.com/thoth-pub/thoth/issues/499) - Default main\_contribution to true
   - [561](https://github.com/thoth-pub/thoth/issues/561) - Add "Publisher Website" as a location platform
   - [553](https://github.com/thoth-pub/thoth/pull/553) - Upgrade rust to `1.76.0` in production and development `Dockerfile`
   - [305](https://github.com/thoth-pub/thoth/issues/305) - Update rust edition to 2021
diff --git a/thoth-api/migrations/v0.11.17/down.sql b/thoth-api/migrations/v0.11.17/down.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..055b53a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/thoth-api/migrations/v0.11.17/down.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+ALTER TABLE contribution
+    ALTER COLUMN main_contribution SET DEFAULT False;
diff --git a/thoth-api/migrations/v0.11.17/up.sql b/thoth-api/migrations/v0.11.17/up.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..87fe07b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/thoth-api/migrations/v0.11.17/up.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+ALTER TABLE contribution
+    ALTER COLUMN main_contribution SET DEFAULT True;
diff --git a/thoth-api/src/model/contribution/mod.rs b/thoth-api/src/model/contribution/mod.rs
index ae6c87be..aa670d6d 100644
--- a/thoth-api/src/model/contribution/mod.rs
+++ b/thoth-api/src/model/contribution/mod.rs
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ impl Default for Contribution {
             work_id: Default::default(),
             contributor_id: Default::default(),
             contribution_type: Default::default(),
-            main_contribution: Default::default(),
+            main_contribution: true,
             biography: Default::default(),
             created_at: Default::default(),
             updated_at: Default::default(),