Taylor Swift’s “august” gained 39% in US streams during August 2021.
The increase showed that the song had begun developing a recurring calendar-based listening pattern. Its title, late-summer setting, and emotionally nostalgic story made it especially likely to reappear in listeners’ playlists when August arrived.
The growth was not the same as a new studio release or a new single campaign. It was a streaming resurgence for a track first released with Folklore in July 2020. Billboard later described the song as a seasonal streaming perennial, comparing the pattern conceptually with annual holiday listening traditions.
The year is easy to confuse with 2022, when the song’s daily streams reportedly surged much more dramatically. The 39% figure belongs to August 2021; the 277% daily-stream increase belongs to the following year.