An information-storage media is provided that includes: (a) a substrate disk 312 having first and second opposing surfaces; (b) a first selected layer 304 on the first surface, the first selected selected layer 308 on the second surface, the second selected layer having a second thickness, wherein the first and second selected layers have a different chemical composition than the substrate disk; and (d) an information-storage layer 412 adjacent to one or both of the selected layers. The first and second thicknesses are different to provide an unequal stress distribution across the cross-section of the media.