TC Roundup: Twitter flexes its ability to actually sell you stuff

Twitter flexes its ability to actually sell you stuff: Twitter said Friday it's testing new pages that gather all sorts of information about products and places. Pages will collect tweets, images and video, along with information about products, as well as offer users the option to buy a product, book a trip, or visit a website for more information. Twitter cites the example of the book "The Martian," compiling tweets from the author, publisher, readers and an easy button to click to download the book. (CNBC)

Facebook to outline new ad formats for mobile in Cannes: For Facebook, mobile is booming. Some 1.25 billion people access the social networking service from smartphones and tablets each month, a 25% bump over a year ago. Mobile accounted for 73% of the company's advertising revenues during the first three months of 2015, up from just 30% for the same quarter in 2013.

In light of that growth and its continued "mobile-first" focus, Facebook is now in the process of building new mobile ad formats and advertising opportunities it hopes will deliver more immersive experiences for consumers and greater value for its advertisers. (The Wall Street Journal)

Apple bows to Taylor Swift on paying for all music streaming: Apple Inc (AAPL.O) reversed its policy and said it would now pay artists during free trials of its new Apple Music streaming service, after pop star Taylor Swift said she would hold back her latest hit album "1989" from the service.

Apple is offering users a three-month trial of its new service and had said it would not pay artists for the use of their music during that time. (Reuters)

Amazon tweaks Kindle publishing royalties to encourage page turners: Amazon is changing how it pays royalties to writers who have self published via its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform and opted to make their book exclusive to its platform to qualify for a cut of the royalties it pays out when KDP books are read via the Kindle Unlimitedall-you-can-read subscription service, or via the Kindle Owners Lending Library (KOLL).

The KOLL gives users of Amazon's e-readers who also shell out for its one-year membership, Prime, the ability to borrow from a catalogue of Kindle e-books for free. Amazon sets a monthly global fund to incentivize authors to participate in its KDP Select program, dividing the pot of money between authors whose e-books have been borrowed or 'read for free' (via KU) that month. (Tech in Asia)