Here is a similar story with photons: and the spin-photon interaction. The difference is that phonons can exist only in solids whereas photons can travel in vacuum. I would hope that the answer is similar to the one you are seeking.
In a quantum theory a photon has intrinsic spin one unit of hbar. On the other hand a free electron has an intrinsic spin of 1/2 unit of hbar. Now angular momentum couplings can be of various types:
The second type is the coupling between intrinsic spins of two particles. This effect is purely quantum mechanical.
Intrinsic spin of photon (as a quantum particle) was discovered in 1931. A pioneer in this area of research was Sir C.V. Raman. Please see the following link. http://www.nature.com/physics/looking-back/raman2/index.html
For recent experimental studies see: http://arxiv.org/abs/1401.5976
The spin density of the photon contains a term that is proportional to the magnetic field.
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