diff --git a/settings.ini b/settings.ini
index d28b9c7..99029f7 100644
--- a/settings.ini
+++ b/settings.ini
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 Fullscreen=1
 
 [Audio]
-Music=0
+Music=1
 Sound=1
 
 [Gameplay]
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ SmoothScroll=1
 UpRotateClockwise=0
 
 [Player]
-Name=PLAYER
+Name=GREGOR
 
 [Debug]
 Enabled=1
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index a507aa9..c731acc 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -699,6 +699,13 @@ int main(int, char **)
     SDL_Texture* statisticsPanelTex = nullptr;
     SDL_Texture* nextPanelTex = nullptr;
 
+    // Music loading tracking
+    int totalTracks = 0;
+    int currentTrackLoading = 0;
+    bool musicLoaded = false;
+    bool musicStarted = false;
+    bool musicLoadingStarted = false;
+
     // Loader control: execute incrementally on main thread to avoid SDL threading issues
     std::atomic_bool g_loadingStarted{false};
     std::atomic_bool g_loadingComplete{false};
@@ -710,7 +717,8 @@ int main(int, char **)
         
         // Initialize counters on first step
         if (step == 0) {
-            g_totalLoadingTasks.store(25); // Total: 2 fonts + 2 logos + 1 main + 1 blocks + 3 panels + 16 audio
+            constexpr int baseTasks = 25; // 2 fonts + 2 logos + 1 main + 1 blocks + 3 panels + 16 SFX
+            g_totalLoadingTasks.store(baseTasks); 
             g_loadedTasks.store(0);
             {
                 std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lk(g_assetLoadErrorsMutex);
@@ -720,6 +728,26 @@ int main(int, char **)
                 std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lk(g_currentLoadingMutex);
                 g_currentLoadingFile.clear();
             }
+            
+            // Initialize background music loading
+            Audio::instance().init();
+            for (int i = 1; i <= 100; ++i) {
+                char base[128];
+                std::snprintf(base, sizeof(base), "assets/music/music%03d", i);
+                std::string path = AssetPath::resolveWithExtensions(base, { ".mp3" });
+                if (path.empty()) break;
+                Audio::instance().addTrackAsync(path);
+                totalTracks++;
+            }
+            // Expand task budget to account for music tracks so the loading bar waits for them
+            g_totalLoadingTasks.store(baseTasks + totalTracks);
+            if (totalTracks > 0) {
+                Audio::instance().startBackgroundLoading();
+                musicLoadingStarted = true;
+            } else {
+                // No music files found, mark as loaded so game can continue
+                musicLoaded = true;
+            }
         }
 
         // Execute one load operation per step
@@ -851,10 +879,6 @@ int main(int, char **)
     SDL_Rect logicalVP{0, 0, LOGICAL_W, LOGICAL_H};
     float logicalScale = 1.f;
     Uint64 lastMs = SDL_GetPerformanceCounter();
-    bool musicStarted = false;
-    bool musicLoaded = false;
-    int currentTrackLoading = 0;
-    int totalTracks = 0; // Will be set dynamically based on actual files
 
     enum class MenuFadePhase { None, FadeOut, FadeIn };
     MenuFadePhase menuFadePhase = MenuFadePhase::None;
@@ -1399,6 +1423,18 @@ int main(int, char **)
         rightHeld = right;
         if (down && !game.isPaused())
             game.softDropBoost(frameMs);
+        // Track music loading on every frame so it finishes even after the loading screen ends
+        if (musicLoadingStarted && !musicLoaded) {
+            currentTrackLoading = Audio::instance().getLoadedTrackCount();
+            if (Audio::instance().isLoadingComplete() || (totalTracks > 0 && currentTrackLoading >= totalTracks)) {
+                Audio::instance().shuffle();
+                if (musicEnabled) {
+                    Audio::instance().start();
+                }
+                musicLoaded = true;
+            }
+        }
+
         if (state == AppState::Playing)
         {
             if (!game.isPaused()) {
@@ -1438,22 +1474,14 @@ int main(int, char **)
                 }
             }
             
-            // Update progress based on background loading
-            if (currentTrackLoading > 0 && !musicLoaded) {
-                currentTrackLoading = Audio::instance().getLoadedTrackCount();
-                // If loading is complete OR we've loaded all expected tracks (handles potential thread cleanup hang)
-                if (Audio::instance().isLoadingComplete() || (totalTracks > 0 && currentTrackLoading >= totalTracks)) {
-                    Audio::instance().shuffle(); // Shuffle once all tracks are loaded
-                    musicLoaded = true;
-                }
-            }
-            
             // Prefer task-based progress if we have tasks registered
-            int totalTasks = g_totalLoadingTasks.load(std::memory_order_acquire);
-            int doneTasks = g_loadedTasks.load(std::memory_order_acquire);
+            const int totalTasks = g_totalLoadingTasks.load(std::memory_order_acquire);
+            const int musicDone = std::min(totalTracks, currentTrackLoading);
+            int doneTasks = g_loadedTasks.load(std::memory_order_acquire) + musicDone;
+            if (doneTasks > totalTasks) doneTasks = totalTasks;
             if (totalTasks > 0) {
                 loadingProgress = std::min(1.0, double(doneTasks) / double(totalTasks));
-                if (loadingProgress >= 1.0) {
+                if (loadingProgress >= 1.0 && musicLoaded) {
                     state = AppState::Menu;
                     stateMgr.setState(state);
                 }
@@ -1481,7 +1509,7 @@ int main(int, char **)
                 double timeProgress = std::min(0.1, (now - loadStart) / 500.0);
                 loadingProgress = std::min(1.0, assetProgress + musicProgress + timeProgress);
                 if (loadingProgress > 0.99) loadingProgress = 1.0;
-                if (musicLoaded && timeProgress >= 0.1) loadingProgress = 1.0;
+                if (!musicLoaded && timeProgress >= 0.1) loadingProgress = 1.0;
                 if (loadingProgress >= 1.0 && musicLoaded) {
                     state = AppState::Menu;
                     stateMgr.setState(state);