TikTok helped popularize Taylor Swift’s annual “august” video trend.
Creators use the song to soundtrack montages of summer memories, travel clips, friendships, sunsets, and other moments saved in their camera rolls. The song’s imagery of August slipping away makes it especially suited to reflective videos posted as summer ends or the month changes.
The trend is an example of how a song can acquire a recurring cultural role years after its release. “august” was released in 2020, but short-form video creators helped give it a fresh seasonal life. Each year, the same audio returns to feeds as users document or romanticize their summer.
Spotify and YouTube Music are important streaming services where people can listen to the recording, but they are not the platform most associated with the viral video format. TikTok is the specific platform connected to the annual montage trend and the song’s recurring internet visibility.