The wealth gap comes down to timing and ownership strategy. Daddy Yankee spent two decades building reggaeton from the underground up, accumulating masters, publishing rights, and licensing deals that compound year after year. He wasn't chasing the algorithm—he was building the catalog that the algorithm would eventually chase. Luis Fonsi, by contrast, caught lightning in a bottle with 'Despacito' in 2017, a song so massive it generated $2M+ annually at peak streaming. But here's the catch: that royalty goldmine is a depreciating asset. Streaming revenue from a 2017 hit eventually normalizes and declines as new songs flood the platform, while Daddy Yankee's diversified catalog and master ownership continue to generate passive income from a deeper, more resilient revenue base.