The "Quality" metric exists to set submitter expectations about what they can expect from their experience sending to you. The ultimate goal is that someone submitting to you knows in advance what they can expect from you, thus avoiding the potential that they'll end up complaining.
Some of the factors included in this measure include (but are not limited to):
In total, there are more than 25 factors taken into account when generating a "quality" score. You can see a full breakdown in this spreadsheet.
How listening time is measured
Premium and standard (free) submissions have two separate averages, tracked independently. Your price is based on the premium one, so a quick standard decline lands in the standard average and never touches your price.
Each song counts once, as your total listening time on that track. Open the same song a few times and those listens add up (capped at 4 minutes per song), then we average that per-song total across your most recent submissions. It's a rolling recent average rather than all-time, so it moves as you review.
Within the premium average we only count songs you listened to for at least 20 seconds, so a 5-second instant-decline is left out entirely. Past that it covers every premium submission you complete, approvals included. So if you listen 30 seconds before approving a track you already know you want, but give declined songs a full 90+, those quick approvals pull it down.
The "Highly rated" badge
If your quality score is above 8/10, you'll earn a "Highly rated" badge on your card in the curator lists artists browse. It's automatic and tied to your quality score, so anything that lifts your score moves you toward it. It doesn't appear on influencer profiles.
One catch worth knowing: feedback quality can hold it back. If your feedback ratings are clearly below average once you've built up enough of them, you won't carry the badge even with a high score. Consistently helpful feedback is what keeps it.
If you are looking for ways to improve your quality score, click "Learn how" under your quality score (see screenshot).