diff --git a/src/renderer/app.ts b/src/renderer/app.ts
index 04b4088..3371bf5 100644
--- a/src/renderer/app.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/app.ts
@@ -360,8 +360,9 @@ let systemAudioActivitySegments = [];
 let systemAudioActivityOpen = null;
 let systemAudioLastActiveSec = 0;
 // System-audio "keep" regions captured per take during this app session,
-// consumed by the on-demand Transcribe & Cut action. Not persisted: after an
-// app restart a cut simply proceeds without them.
+// consumed by the on-demand Transcribe & Cut action. The same ranges are
+// persisted on the take as `systemAudioSegments`; this map is the fallback
+// for takes recorded before persistence existed (or before a project save).
 const takeSystemAudioActivity = new Map();
 const SYSTEM_AUDIO_RMS_ACTIVE_THRESHOLD = 0.01;
 const SYSTEM_AUDIO_RELEASE_MS = 400;
@@ -4539,6 +4540,7 @@ async function stopRecordingImpl() {
         screenStartOffsetMs: recorderStartOffsetsMs.screen,
         cameraStartOffsetMs: recorderStartOffsetsMs.camera,
         audioStartOffsetMs: recorderStartOffsetsMs.audio,
+        systemAudioSegments: [...systemAudioActivitySegments],
         sections: sectionsForTimeline,
         transcriptSegments: []
       });
@@ -6625,7 +6627,17 @@ async function transcribeAndCutTake() {
     });
     // Merge system-audio "keep" regions captured while this take recorded so
     // audible screen sound is never trimmed just because the mic was quiet.
-    const activeSegments = [...speechSegments, ...(takeSystemAudioActivity.get(takeId) || [])];
+    // Prefer the ranges persisted on the take (they survive app restarts);
+    // fall back to the in-session activity map for takes recorded before
+    // persistence existed.
+    const persistedSystemAudio = Array.isArray(take.systemAudioSegments)
+      ? take.systemAudioSegments
+      : [];
+    const systemAudioSegments =
+      persistedSystemAudio.length > 0
+        ? persistedSystemAudio
+        : takeSystemAudioActivity.get(takeId) || [];
+    const activeSegments = [...speechSegments, ...systemAudioSegments];
     if (activeSegments.length === 0) {
       setTranscribeCutStatus('No speech detected — nothing to cut', 'warning');
       return;
@@ -6792,12 +6804,17 @@ async function removeBadTakesFromTimeline() {
     const takeSections = editorState.sections.filter((s) => s.takeId === takeId);
     // Words plus system-audio activity: cut edges snap to these so pieces
     // don't open with dead air, and pure inter-flub silence is dropped.
-    // System-audio activity comes from the in-session recording data when
-    // available, otherwise from the decoded system-audio waveform envelope
-    // (cached for display). Only when neither exists for a system-audio
-    // take do we keep plain padded bounds, so screen sound is never trimmed
-    // on word evidence alone.
-    let systemAudioKeeps = takeSystemAudioActivity.get(takeId) || [];
+    // System-audio activity comes from the ranges persisted on the take
+    // (they survive app restarts), then from the in-session recording data,
+    // otherwise from the decoded system-audio waveform envelope (cached for
+    // display). Only when none exist for a system-audio take do we keep
+    // plain padded bounds, so screen sound is never trimmed on word
+    // evidence alone.
+    const persistedKeeps = Array.isArray(take.systemAudioSegments)
+      ? take.systemAudioSegments
+      : [];
+    let systemAudioKeeps =
+      persistedKeeps.length > 0 ? persistedKeeps : takeSystemAudioActivity.get(takeId) || [];
     if (take.hasSystemAudio && systemAudioKeeps.length === 0) {
       const envelope = takeSystemAudioPeakEnvelopeCache.get(takeId);
       if (envelope?.peaks?.length && envelope.duration > 0) {
diff --git a/src/shared/domain/project.ts b/src/shared/domain/project.ts
index 83f445a..6575d76 100644
--- a/src/shared/domain/project.ts
+++ b/src/shared/domain/project.ts
@@ -75,7 +75,9 @@ export interface ProjectSettings {
 export type AudioSource = 'screen' | 'camera' | 'external';
 
 /**
- * A stored transcription utterance in take-local recording time.
+ * A stored speech-shaped segment in take-local recording time: either a
+ * transcription utterance or a system-audio "keep" region. Sharing the shape
+ * lets the section builder merge both kinds directly.
  */
 export interface TakeSpeechSegment {
   start: number;
@@ -111,6 +113,10 @@ export interface Take {
   screenStartOffsetMs: number;
   cameraStartOffsetMs: number;
   audioStartOffsetMs: number;
+  // System-audio "keep" regions detected while this take recorded. Persisted
+  // so Transcribe & Cut still protects audible screen sound (music, demos)
+  // after an app restart, when the in-session activity map is gone.
+  systemAudioSegments: TakeSpeechSegment[];
   sections: Section[];
   // Fine-grained speech utterances stored by Transcribe & Cut so bad-take
   // detection and restore can run later without re-transcribing. The removed
@@ -466,6 +472,7 @@ export function normalizeProjectData(rawProject: unknown, projectFolder?: string
         screenStartOffsetMs: normalizeRecorderStartOffsetMs(rawTakeRecord.screenStartOffsetMs),
         cameraStartOffsetMs: normalizeRecorderStartOffsetMs(rawTakeRecord.cameraStartOffsetMs),
         audioStartOffsetMs: normalizeRecorderStartOffsetMs(rawTakeRecord.audioStartOffsetMs),
+        systemAudioSegments: normalizeTakeSpeechSegments(rawTakeRecord.systemAudioSegments),
         sections: normalizeSections(take.sections),
         transcriptSegments: normalizeTakeSpeechSegments(rawTakeRecord.transcriptSegments)
       };
diff --git a/tests/unit/project-domain.test.ts b/tests/unit/project-domain.test.ts
index 5b1807f..09c6ac8 100644
--- a/tests/unit/project-domain.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/project-domain.test.ts
@@ -392,6 +392,60 @@ describe('shared/domain/project', () => {
     expect(sections[2].transcript).toBe('third with dupe id');
   });
 
+  test('normalizeTakeSpeechSegments drops invalid entries, coerces text, and sorts by start', () => {
+    expect(normalizeTakeSpeechSegments(undefined)).toEqual([]);
+    expect(normalizeTakeSpeechSegments(null)).toEqual([]);
+    expect(normalizeTakeSpeechSegments('bad')).toEqual([]);
+
+    const segments = normalizeTakeSpeechSegments([
+      { start: 4, end: 6, text: '  music ' },
+      { start: 0, end: 1.5 },
+      { start: 2, end: 2, text: 'zero-length drops' },
+      { start: 3, end: 1, text: 'inverted drops' },
+      { start: 'bad', end: 9, text: 'non-numeric drops' },
+      { start: 7, end: Infinity, text: 'non-finite drops' },
+      'not-a-record',
+      { start: 8, end: 9, text: 42 }
+    ]);
+
+    expect(segments).toEqual([
+      { start: 0, end: 1.5, text: '' },
+      { start: 4, end: 6, text: 'music' },
+      { start: 8, end: 9, text: '' }
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  test('normalizeProjectData round-trips take systemAudioSegments and defaults legacy takes to empty', () => {
+    const project = normalizeProjectData(
+      {
+        takes: [
+          {
+            id: 'take-1',
+            screenPath: 'screen.webm',
+            cameraPath: null,
+            duration: 10,
+            hasSystemAudio: true,
+            sections: [],
+            systemAudioSegments: [
+              { start: 1.25, end: 3.5, text: '' },
+              { start: 5, end: 4, text: 'invalid drops' }
+            ]
+          },
+          { id: 'take-2', screenPath: 'screen2.webm', cameraPath: null, duration: 5, sections: [] }
+        ]
+      },
+      '/tmp/my-project'
+    );
+
+    expect(project.takes[0].systemAudioSegments).toEqual([{ start: 1.25, end: 3.5, text: '' }]);
+    // Legacy takes persisted before the field existed hydrate to an empty list.
+    expect(project.takes[1].systemAudioSegments).toEqual([]);
+
+    // Simulate save → load: re-normalizing the serialized project preserves the ranges.
+    const reloaded = normalizeProjectData(JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(project)), '/tmp/my-project');
+    expect(reloaded.takes[0].systemAudioSegments).toEqual([{ start: 1.25, end: 3.5, text: '' }]);
+  });
+
   test('normalizeProjectData converts section imagePath to absolute path', () => {
     const project = normalizeProjectData(
       {