diff --git a/DeepDrftAPI/Services/UnifiedTrackService.cs b/DeepDrftAPI/Services/UnifiedTrackService.cs
index 6fcbca8..208c7dd 100644
--- a/DeepDrftAPI/Services/UnifiedTrackService.cs
+++ b/DeepDrftAPI/Services/UnifiedTrackService.cs
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ public class UnifiedTrackService
         // authoritative metadata update for the replace. A failure here is surfaced (unlike the
         // best-effort waveform regen above) because a stale DurationSeconds silently corrupts
         // derived aggregates (e.g. MixRuntimeSeconds on the home stats endpoint).
-        var durationWrite = await _sqlTrackService.UpdateDuration(trackId, newAudio.Duration, ct);
+        var durationWrite = await _sqlTrackService.SetDuration(trackId, newAudio.Duration, ct);
         if (!durationWrite.Success)
         {
             var error = durationWrite.Messages.FirstOrDefault()?.Message ?? "Unknown error";
diff --git a/DeepDrftData/ITrackService.cs b/DeepDrftData/ITrackService.cs
index f6c4a23..2845bba 100644
--- a/DeepDrftData/ITrackService.cs
+++ b/DeepDrftData/ITrackService.cs
@@ -47,6 +47,14 @@ public interface ITrackService
     /// </summary>
     Task<ResultContainer<int>> UpdateDuration(long id, double durationSeconds, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Unconditionally overwrite the SQL duration for one track. Unlike <see cref="UpdateDuration"/>,
+    /// this carries no null guard — it is for the replace-audio path where the track already has a
+    /// non-null duration that must be overwritten with the new audio's value. Returns a fail Result
+    /// when zero rows are affected (track removed between lookup and write).
+    /// </summary>
+    Task<ResultContainer<int>> SetDuration(long id, double durationSeconds, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Resolve the release matching <paramref name="title"/> + <paramref name="artist"/>, creating
     /// one from <paramref name="releaseData"/> when none exists. Backs the upload flow's FK
diff --git a/DeepDrftData/Repositories/TrackRepository.cs b/DeepDrftData/Repositories/TrackRepository.cs
index 3b638ff..6c741fc 100644
--- a/DeepDrftData/Repositories/TrackRepository.cs
+++ b/DeepDrftData/Repositories/TrackRepository.cs
@@ -210,6 +210,18 @@ public class TrackRepository : Repository<DeepDrftContext, TrackEntity>
                 .SetProperty(t => t.DurationSeconds, durationSeconds)
                 .SetProperty(t => t.UpdatedAt, DateTime.UtcNow), ct);
 
+    // Unconditional duration overwrite for one track (no load round-trip), used by the replace-audio
+    // path. Unlike UpdateDurationAsync, there is no null guard — replace always overwrites the
+    // existing value because a normally-uploaded track already has a non-null DurationSeconds and the
+    // null-guarded backfill query would match zero rows and silently leave it stale. Returns the count
+    // of rows affected; zero means the track was removed between the GetById lookup and this write.
+    public async Task<int> SetDurationAsync(long id, double durationSeconds, CancellationToken ct = default)
+        => await Query
+            .Where(t => t.Id == id)
+            .ExecuteUpdateAsync(s => s
+                .SetProperty(t => t.DurationSeconds, durationSeconds)
+                .SetProperty(t => t.UpdatedAt, DateTime.UtcNow), ct);
+
     // Resolve an existing release by its natural key (title + artist). Returns null when no match,
     // signalling the manager to create one. Soft-deleted releases never match.
     public async Task<ReleaseEntity?> GetReleaseByTitleAndArtistAsync(
diff --git a/DeepDrftData/TrackManager.cs b/DeepDrftData/TrackManager.cs
index 240ec98..a04673c 100644
--- a/DeepDrftData/TrackManager.cs
+++ b/DeepDrftData/TrackManager.cs
@@ -276,6 +276,21 @@ public class TrackManager
         }
     }
 
+    public async Task<ResultContainer<int>> SetDuration(long id, double durationSeconds, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            var affected = await Repository.SetDurationAsync(id, durationSeconds, cancellationToken);
+            if (affected == 0)
+                return ResultContainer<int>.CreateFailResult($"Duration write matched no rows for track {id}.");
+            return ResultContainer<int>.CreatePassResult(affected);
+        }
+        catch (Exception e)
+        {
+            return ResultContainer<int>.CreateFailResult(e.Message);
+        }
+    }
+
     public async Task<ResultContainer<TrackDto>> Create(TrackDto newTrack)
     {
         try