diff --git a/core/matching_engine.py b/core/matching_engine.py
index bc7ec1ed..b532a640 100644
--- a/core/matching_engine.py
+++ b/core/matching_engine.py
@@ -88,7 +88,8 @@ class MusicMatchingEngine:
         
         # Replace common separators with spaces to preserve word boundaries.
         # Include hyphen in separator replacement for artist names like "AC/DC" vs "AC-DC"
-        text = re.sub(r'[._/-]', ' ', text)
+        # Include '&' so "Pig&Dan" becomes "Pig Dan" (matches "Pig & Dan" on Soulseek)
+        text = re.sub(r'[._/&-]', ' ', text)
 
         # Keep alphanumeric characters, spaces, AND the '$' sign.
         text = re.sub(r'[^a-z0-9\s$]', '', text)