diff --git a/src/lib/server/music/poller.ts b/src/lib/server/music/poller.ts
index 22f2b2f..ff9bce6 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/music/poller.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/music/poller.ts
@@ -23,10 +23,20 @@ import { getLiveFromDb } from './stats';
 // off to 30 s when paused or idle, and honouring 429 Retry-After. Changes (new track,
 // play/pause, seek) are pushed to browsers via ./live. Recently played (the play log) runs
 // every minute, plus ~10 s after a track change so a finished track lands quickly.
+// Spotify rate-limits endpoints separately (recently-played can be blocked for hours while
+// currently-playing still answers), so a 429 on the play log only pauses the play log, for
+// the full Retry-After, and never slows the now-playing card down.
 const LEASE_SECONDS = 20; // renewed every tick; another container takes over 20 s after we stop
 const RECENT_MS = 60_000;
 const CATCH_UP_MS = 10_000;
 const HOLDER = `app-${crypto.randomUUID().slice(0, 8)}`;
+const MAX_RETRY_S = 24 * 3600;
+const retryMs = (e: SpotifyError, fallback: number) =>
+	Math.min(MAX_RETRY_S, Math.max(5, e.retryAfter ?? fallback)) * 1000;
+const rateLimited = (e: unknown): e is SpotifyError =>
+	e instanceof SpotifyError && e.status === 429;
+const until = (ms: number) =>
+	new Date(Date.now() + ms).toISOString().slice(0, 16).replace('T', ' ') + ' UTC';
 
 let timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
 let stopped = false;
@@ -35,6 +45,8 @@ let last: PlayerSample | null = null;
 let idleTicks = 0;
 let nextRecentAt = 0;
 let catchUps = 0;
+let recentBlockedUntil = 0;
+let recentError: string | null = null;
 let cache = newCache();
 
 export const spotifyCredentials = () => ({
@@ -86,22 +98,34 @@ export async function tick(): Promise<number> {
 		}
 		last = sample;
 		idleTicks = sample.isPlaying ? 0 : idleTicks + 1;
-		if (Date.now() >= nextRecentAt) {
-			const added = await pollRecent(client, access, cache);
-			// Spotify can take a little while to log a finished track: retry twice, 20 s apart.
-			if (!added && catchUps > 0) {
-				catchUps--;
-				nextRecentAt = Date.now() + 20_000;
-			} else {
+		if (Date.now() >= nextRecentAt && Date.now() >= recentBlockedUntil) {
+			try {
+				const added = await pollRecent(client, access, cache);
+				// Spotify can take a little while to log a finished track: retry twice, 20 s apart.
+				if (!added && catchUps > 0) {
+					catchUps--;
+					nextRecentAt = Date.now() + 20_000;
+				} else {
+					catchUps = 0;
+					nextRecentAt = Date.now() + RECENT_MS;
+				}
+			} catch (e) {
+				if (!rateLimited(e)) throw e;
+				const wait = retryMs(e, 60);
+				recentBlockedUntil = Date.now() + wait;
 				catchUps = 0;
-				nextRecentAt = Date.now() + RECENT_MS;
+				recentError = `${e.message} (play log paused until ${until(wait)})`;
 			}
 		}
+		if (Date.now() < recentBlockedUntil) error = recentError;
 		return nextDelay(sample.isPlaying, idleTicks);
 	} catch (e) {
 		error = await handlePollError(client, e).catch(() => String(e));
-		if (e instanceof SpotifyError && e.status === 429)
-			return Math.min(600, Math.max(5, e.retryAfter ?? 30)) * 1000;
+		if (rateLimited(e)) {
+			const wait = retryMs(e, 30);
+			error = `${error} (paused until ${until(wait)})`;
+			return wait;
+		}
 		return 30_000;
 	} finally {
 		log(error ?? '');