To what extent does the relationship between music and identity play a role in ethnomusicology? In which way can the findings of ethnomusicological research dealing with the many music cultures of the world contribute to the ongoing debate on this issue in other disciplines like music psychology? By drawing on examples from various African, Asian, and Latin American cultures as well as from jazz, the present paper will try to provide an overview of the role of music in creating and marking identity from a cross-cultural perspective. Processes resulting from or shaped by globalization will also have to be taken into account.