MUSIC MASTERING STEM CONTROL
Define Music Mastering Stem Masters
Separate the approved scoring rubric from drafts, program variants and reviewer working files.

01 / CONTEXT
Define the control decision
A audio team may hold an approved rubric, draft criteria, program-cycle variants, reviewer sheets, conflict notes and release recommendations. Record the authoritative baseline, program, cycle, criteria owner, approval authority and release date before applying restrictions.
Separate the approved scoring rubric from drafts, program variants and reviewer working files.
02 / PROCEDURE
Run the control sequence
- 01
Name the rubric owner and authorized approval body.
- 02
Record program, cycle, criteria version, scoring scale and approval date.
- 03
Separate drafts, reviewer sheets and program variants from the baseline.
- 04
Use fictional tracks and non-operational scores in technical tests.
- 05
Publish revision, distribution and recovery owners.
03 / EVIDENCE
Preserve proof without personal data
A defensible control record identifies the rubric owner, grant program, review cycle, criteria version, scoring scale, authoritative path, permitted accounts, restriction mode, approval date, checksum evidence, recovery owner and next review date. It should not contain track data, live scores, conflict notes, credentials or confidential recommendations. Use fictional tracks and non-operational scores during every technical test.
Recheck the arrangement after changes to Windows, spreadsheet or document software, application portals, committee workflow, storage, Folder Protect, permissions, service accounts or reviewer roles. Confirm both usability and recovery: an authorized reviewer should read the approved baseline, an unauthorized account should not alter it, and the recovery owner should restore a separately held copy without depending on the protected folder.
Keep the claim narrow. Local restrictions may reduce accidental writing, deletion or access on a tested Windows path, but they do not encrypt data, establish scoring fairness, validate criteria, manage conflicts, authorize reviewers, protect every track copy, provide version history or replace backup. Escalate those requirements to the grant-management and governance systems designed to meet them.
Ask a second administrator to follow the written procedure without verbal help. Record whether that person can identify the approved rubric, create a working copy, recognize the version ID, interpret denied access and find the recovery owner. This usability check reveals ambiguous paths, hidden portal dependencies and undocumented knowledge before a program, cycle, application, storage or staffing change. Correct the procedure, repeat the test with fictional data and retain only minimal evidence.
04 / BOUNDARY
State what the control cannot prove
A protected file does not establish criteria fairness, scoring validity, reviewer independence, conflict management, track confidentiality or release authority.
Validate the exact Windows account, rubric application, committee workflow, storage path and current product release. If encryption, fairness review, conflict management, immutable history, reviewer governance or regulated retention are required, select systems designed for those jobs rather than broadening a desktop restriction claim.
05 / SOURCES
Primary references
References support specific controls and do not imply endorsement.