diff --git a/app/services/music_player_service.py b/app/services/music_player_service.py
index c498d1b..af7ebe4 100644
--- a/app/services/music_player_service.py
+++ b/app/services/music_player_service.py
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ class MusicPlayerService:
         self._track_play_tracked = (
             False  # Flag to track if current track play has been logged
         )
+        self._cumulative_play_time = 0  # Cumulative time actually played for current track
+        self._last_position_update = 0  # Last position for calculating continuous play time
 
     def start_vlc_instance(self) -> bool:
         """Start a VLC instance with Python bindings."""
@@ -232,6 +234,9 @@ class MusicPlayerService:
                     self._track_play_tracked = (
                         False  # Reset play tracking for new track
                     )
+                    # Reset cumulative play time tracking for new track
+                    self._cumulative_play_time = 0
+                    self._last_position_update = 0
                     return True
             return False
         except Exception as e:
@@ -656,22 +661,34 @@ class MusicPlayerService:
             elif self.is_playing and not old_playing:
                 self._track_ending_handled = False
 
-            # Track play event when song reaches 20% completion (but only once per track load)
-            # Only track if playing, haven't tracked yet, have valid duration, and reached threshold
+            # Update cumulative play time for continuous listening tracking
+            if self.is_playing and old_playing and self.current_time > 0:
+                # Calculate time elapsed since last update (but cap it to prevent huge jumps from seeking)
+                if self._last_position_update > 0:
+                    time_diff = self.current_time - self._last_position_update
+                    # Only add time if it's a reasonable progression (not a big jump from seeking)
+                    if 0 <= time_diff <= (self.sync_interval * 1000 * 2):  # Max 2x sync interval
+                        self._cumulative_play_time += time_diff
+                
+                self._last_position_update = self.current_time
+            elif self.is_playing and not old_playing:
+                # Just started playing, initialize position tracking
+                self._last_position_update = self.current_time if self.current_time > 0 else 0
+
+            # Track play event when cumulative listening reaches 20% of track duration
             if (
                 self.is_playing
                 and not self._track_play_tracked
                 and self.duration > 0
-                and self.current_time > 0  # Ensure we have valid playback time
-                and self.current_time >= (self.duration * PLAY_COMPLETION_THRESHOLD)
+                and self._cumulative_play_time >= (self.duration * PLAY_COMPLETION_THRESHOLD)
             ):
                 current_track = self.get_current_track()
                 if current_track:
                     self._track_sound_play(current_track["id"])
                     self._track_play_tracked = True
                     logger.info(
-                        f"Tracked play for '{current_track['title']}' at {self.current_time}ms "
-                        f"({(self.current_time/self.duration)*100:.1f}% completion)"
+                        f"Tracked play for '{current_track['title']}' after {self._cumulative_play_time}ms "
+                        f"cumulative listening ({(self._cumulative_play_time/self.duration)*100:.1f}% of track)"
                     )
 
             # Emit updates if state changed significantly or periodically