I don't think any CD-R is rated for very long life... I have a few data ones from the first years I was in business (1996) that are now going a bit sloppy (stored in a temperature controlled office) and many of my MP3 discs (I don't bring "real" CDs in the car with me) subjected to prairie summers and winters (-35 to +35 C) are unplayable and the layers are cracking or spiderwebbing after 2.5 years in those conditions.
What are the "masters" you speak of? Tape? CD-R? Some form of removable magnetic storage?
Also, depending what speed the copies were burned at - that may be an issue... hard to find a home CD-R drive that will slow down to 1x, but that's really the best for archival - the pits stay round that way instead of oblong.
Bren R.
