The fines are excessive, but I also find it hard to have sympathy for someone who was illegally distributing music. Fix the law to make the fines match the scope of the infractions.
The point of high fines is to discourage other would-be copyright infringers and to also ensure that copyright owners have a sufficient incentive to go after thieves. If anything, the penalties are on the low side, especially if an unregistered work is infringed.