Published Standards

The standards behind every certification

Both MFI marks are issued under public standards. Anyone can read them, cite them, or audit a certification against them. The standards are versioned, dated, and published as PDFs.

Process Certification

Certificate of Embodied Production

CEP Public Standard v1.3 · June 11, 2026

The CEP certifies that a sound recording was produced without grid correction, pitch correction, or generative AI. Foundational tracks must have been recorded simultaneously. Each submission is individually reviewed by a trained analyst.

Learn more about CEP → Submit for CEP Download standard (PDF)

No Generative AI

Certified Significant Form

CSF Public Standard v2.1 · June 11, 2026

The CSF certifies that a sound recording was produced without generative AI. It is the baseline layer beneath the CEP, evaluated under a documented methodology. Recordings flagged as indeterminate are reviewed by a trained analyst.

Learn more about CSF → Download standard (PDF)

Version History

Public revision record

Standards are republished when methodology, thresholds, or review protocols change. Older versions remain available for reference.

Date	Mark	Version	Summary
June 11, 2026	CEP	v1.3	Renamed the public certification designation from CEP-Verified to CEP-Certified. No change to criteria or evaluation. PDF
June 11, 2026	CSF	v2.1	Renamed the public certification designation from Verified to Certified. No change to criteria or evaluation. PDF
March 31, 2026	CEP	v1.2	Refined the foundational-tracks criterion, added analyst checklist for hybrid live/studio recordings. PDF
March 31, 2026	CSF	v2.0	Updated detection methodology, scoring thresholds, and analyst review protocols. PDF

Methodology

How the standards are applied

A short summary of how each certification flows from submission to public record. The full procedure is documented in each standard's PDF.

CEP · ANALYST FIRST

Individual review for every submission

Every CEP submission is reviewed by a trained analyst against the published checklist. The analyst evaluates production methodology, not sound quality. Decisions are written and appealable within 30 days.

CSF · AUTOMATED + REVIEW

Screening, then review

Each recording is evaluated under the documented methodology. Clear results publish automatically. Indeterminate results are queued for analyst review. Recordings that do not meet the standard are designated Not Certified with a written decision.

BOTH · PUBLIC RECORD

Certifications appear in the registry

Certified recordings receive a unique ID and are published in the public registry. The audio file is deleted after review. A SHA-256 hash of the file is retained permanently for verification.

Background

The empirical context

The standards are written against a measurable baseline of how popular recordings are now produced. The Institute publishes original research on the gridification of popular music, documenting tempo variability across six decades of Billboard year-end top-five recordings (1960 through 2025), alongside two companion essays on the civic and aesthetic stakes.

View Research →