diff --git a/scripts/migrate-release-years.mjs b/scripts/migrate-release-years.mjs
index 78f1046..ad9b03b 100644
--- a/scripts/migrate-release-years.mjs
+++ b/scripts/migrate-release-years.mjs
@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@ const prisma = new PrismaClient();
 
 const MUSICBRAINZ_API_BASE = 'https://musicbrainz.org/ws/2';
 const USER_AGENT = 'hoerdle/0.1.0 ( elpatron@mailbox.org )';
-const RATE_LIMIT_DELAY = 100; // 100ms between requests (conservative)
+const RATE_LIMIT_DELAY = 250; // 250ms between requests (very conservative)
 
 function sleep(ms) {
     return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
 }
 
-async function fetchWithRetry(url, maxRetries = 5) {
+async function fetchWithRetry(url, maxRetries = 10) {
     let lastError = null;
 
     for (let attempt = 0; attempt < maxRetries; attempt++) {
@@ -52,29 +52,40 @@ async function fetchWithRetry(url, maxRetries = 5) {
 }
 
 async function getReleaseYear(artist, title) {
-    try {
-        const query = `artist:"${artist}" AND recording:"${title}"`;
-        const url = `${MUSICBRAINZ_API_BASE}/recording?query=${encodeURIComponent(query)}&fmt=json&limit=10`;
-
+    const search = async (query, type) => {
+        const url = `${MUSICBRAINZ_API_BASE}/recording?query=${encodeURIComponent(query)}&fmt=json&limit=5`;
         await sleep(RATE_LIMIT_DELAY);
-
         const response = await fetchWithRetry(url);
+        if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`API Error ${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`);
+        return response.json();
+    };
 
-        if (!response.ok) {
-            console.error(`MusicBrainz API error: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`);
-            return null;
+    try {
+        // 1. Strict Search
+        let data = await search(`artist:"${artist}" AND recording:"${title}"`, 'strict');
+
+        // 2. Fallback: Fuzzy Search if no recordings found
+        if (!data.recordings || data.recordings.length === 0) {
+            // Remove special chars and quotes for fuzzy search
+            const cleanArtist = artist.replace(/[^\w\s]/g, ' ').replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
+            const cleanTitle = title.replace(/[^\w\s]/g, ' ').replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
+
+            // Only try fuzzy if the cleaned strings are valid
+            if (cleanArtist && cleanTitle) {
+                console.log(`    Trying fuzzy search for: ${cleanTitle} by ${cleanArtist}`);
+                data = await search(`artist:${cleanArtist} AND recording:${cleanTitle}`, 'fuzzy');
+            }
         }
 
-        const data = await response.json();
-
         if (!data.recordings || data.recordings.length === 0) {
-            // console.log(`No recordings found for "${title}" by "${artist}"`);
+            console.log(`    ❌ No recordings found for "${title}" by "${artist}"`);
             return null;
         }
 
         let earliestYear = null;
 
         for (const recording of data.recordings) {
+            // Check releases linked to recording
             if (recording.releases && recording.releases.length > 0) {
                 for (const release of recording.releases) {
                     if (release.date) {
@@ -86,6 +97,7 @@ async function getReleaseYear(artist, title) {
                 }
             }
 
+            // Check first-release-date on recording itself
             if (recording['first-release-date']) {
                 const year = parseInt(recording['first-release-date'].split('-')[0]);
                 if (!isNaN(year) && (earliestYear === null || year < earliestYear)) {
@@ -94,9 +106,15 @@ async function getReleaseYear(artist, title) {
             }
         }
 
+        if (earliestYear) {
+            // console.log(`    ✅ Found year: ${earliestYear}`);
+        } else {
+            console.log(`    ⚠️  Recordings found but NO YEAR for "${title}" by "${artist}"`);
+        }
+
         return earliestYear;
     } catch (error) {
-        console.error(`Error fetching release year for "${title}" by "${artist}":`, error.message);
+        console.error(`    ❌ Error fetching release year for "${title}" by "${artist}":`, error.message);
         return null;
     }
 }