Link-O-Rama …

MPAA reaches infringement settlement with China company – Associated Press

Wanna dress like Avril Lavigne? – USA Today

Countersuit against RIAA could cause problems with the trade organization’s anti-piracy legal methods – Wired / Listening Post

19 albums in 20 years sure is a lot of music. Even for Ani DiFranco – The Tampa Tribune

House Of Representatives deletes chunk of proposed copyright bill – CNET / News.com

Jools Holland says he has the two best jobs in the world – The Australian

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

Blue Oyster Cult heads to the U.K. in June. Dates include Oxford (June 2), Cardiff (June 3), Sheffield (June 9) and London June 11.

Keb’ Mo’ updates today with a two-night stand slotted for Seattle in June. The bluesman also appears on the Playboy Jazz Cruise next January.

We just posted a few new listings for The Derailers. April 4 puts the band in Tulsa, OK, April 5 it’s Grainesville, TX and May 2 takes the group to Fort Worth for MayFest.

And we have some new shows for Taj Mahal, including June 18 in San Diego, June 23 & 24 in Seattle and June 26 in Eugene, OR.

During the past couple of hours we also posted changes in the schedules for The Four Freshmen, Tab The Band, Steve March Torme, Rare Earth, John Nemeth, Hadouken!, Daedelus, Clue To Kalo, Black Kids and Avenged Sevenfold.

And that wraps up the first half of the day. Don’t forget to check back to see how Thursday, part II, is going in Your Midday Update, scheduled for around 3 pm (PST), from Pollstar.com!

This Day In Music History … (from Associated Press)

In 1913, a San Francisco newspaper used the word “jazz” for the first time in print. The first style of music known as jazz was the New Orleans style, later called Dixieland, in which a small group would improvise collectively on a well-known tune.

In 1970, Charles Manson released an LP called Lie to finance his defense in the Sharon Tate murder trial. The album cover showed the cover of Life magazine, on which Manson had appeared, but the “F” was edited out to form the word “Lie.”

In 1972, John Lennon’s temporary visa was revoked by the U-S Department of Immigration. The department wanted Lennon deported because of a drug arrest and his involvement with the radical left.

In 1994, Frank Sinatra collapsed during a concert in Richmond, Virginia. The 78-year-old performer fell face down on stage while singing “My Way,” his trademark song.

In 1998, Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher was charged with assault causing bodily harm after head-butting a fan outside a hotel in Brisbane, Australia. The fan, who apparently snapped a picture of the British pop star, suffered a broken nose. Oasis’ show that night went on as scheduled although guitarist Noel Gallagher later apologized for the band’s poor performance. The group apparently sounded terrible, bickered on stage and refused to do an encore.

In 1999, country singer George Jones was seriously injured when he smashed his sport-utility vehicle into a bridge near his home in Franklin, Tennessee. He suffered a collapsed lung, ruptured his liver and had internal bleeding.

Also on this date in 1999, Courtney Love stalked off the stage in Portland, Oregon, after about 45 minutes. Love was apparently upset by the lukewarm reception she and her band Hole received.