Abstract
This chapter moves beyond the common metaphor of “flows” to describe how music moves in an era commonly thought of as globalized. “Circulation” today refers to people as well as goods but is an idea with a long history, going back to Marxist conceptions of the movement of money; it is still useful with respect to cultural goods such as music. Drawing on Marx and anthropologists who have studied value and exchange (Gabriel Tarde, Jane Fajans), this chapter argues that things circulate because they have value, and circulation therefore manifests as constant exchanges—of time, money, goods, and more—that constantly (re)make social life and relations. Radio serves as a case study in this chapter, especially as it plays an important role in the indie rock scene in southern California.