diff --git a/crates/pinakes-core/src/import.rs b/crates/pinakes-core/src/import.rs
index 4a8efe1..9d12a49 100644
--- a/crates/pinakes-core/src/import.rs
+++ b/crates/pinakes-core/src/import.rs
@@ -403,32 +403,42 @@ pub async fn import_directory_with_options(
 
     // Limit concurrency by draining when we hit the cap
     if join_set.len() >= concurrency
-      && let Some(Ok((path, result))) = join_set.join_next().await
+      && let Some(result) = join_set.join_next().await
     {
-      match result {
-        Ok(r) => results.push(Ok(r)),
-        Err(e) => {
-          tracing::warn!(path = %path.display(), error = %e, "failed to import file");
-          results.push(Err(e));
-        },
-      }
+      collect_import_result(result, &mut results);
     }
   }
 
   // Drain remaining tasks
-  while let Some(Ok((path, result))) = join_set.join_next().await {
-    match result {
-      Ok(r) => results.push(Ok(r)),
-      Err(e) => {
-        tracing::warn!(path = %path.display(), error = %e, "failed to import file");
-        results.push(Err(e));
-      },
-    }
+  while let Some(result) = join_set.join_next().await {
+    collect_import_result(result, &mut results);
   }
 
   Ok(results)
 }
 
+fn collect_import_result(
+  join_result: std::result::Result<
+    (PathBuf, Result<ImportResult>),
+    tokio::task::JoinError,
+  >,
+  results: &mut Vec<std::result::Result<ImportResult, PinakesError>>,
+) {
+  match join_result {
+    Ok((_path, Ok(r))) => results.push(Ok(r)),
+    Ok((path, Err(e))) => {
+      tracing::warn!(path = %path.display(), error = %e, "failed to import file");
+      results.push(Err(e));
+    },
+    Err(e) => {
+      tracing::error!(error = %e, "import task panicked");
+      results.push(Err(PinakesError::InvalidOperation(format!(
+        "import task panicked: {e}"
+      ))));
+    },
+  }
+}
+
 /// Extract markdown links from a file and store them in the database.
 async fn extract_and_store_links(
   storage: &DynStorageBackend,
diff --git a/crates/pinakes-core/src/storage/mod.rs b/crates/pinakes-core/src/storage/mod.rs
index ef8b9b6..d965b0d 100644
--- a/crates/pinakes-core/src/storage/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/pinakes-core/src/storage/mod.rs
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ pub trait StorageBackend: Send + Sync + 'static {
     &self,
   ) -> Result<Vec<(MediaId, std::path::PathBuf, ContentHash)>>;
 
-  // Batch metadata update
+  // Batch metadata update (must be implemented per backend for bulk SQL)
   #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
   async fn batch_update_media(
     &self,
@@ -166,34 +166,7 @@ pub trait StorageBackend: Send + Sync + 'static {
     genre: Option<&str>,
     year: Option<i32>,
     description: Option<&str>,
-  ) -> Result<u64> {
-    let mut count = 0u64;
-    for id in ids {
-      let mut item = self.get_media(*id).await?;
-      if let Some(v) = title {
-        item.title = Some(v.to_string());
-      }
-      if let Some(v) = artist {
-        item.artist = Some(v.to_string());
-      }
-      if let Some(v) = album {
-        item.album = Some(v.to_string());
-      }
-      if let Some(v) = genre {
-        item.genre = Some(v.to_string());
-      }
-      if let Some(v) = &year {
-        item.year = Some(*v);
-      }
-      if let Some(v) = description {
-        item.description = Some(v.to_string());
-      }
-      item.updated_at = chrono::Utc::now();
-      self.update_media(&item).await?;
-      count += 1;
-    }
-    Ok(count)
-  }
+  ) -> Result<u64>;
 
   // Saved searches
   async fn save_search(