Of course you're not owed anything; My point is that downloading two songs is not necessarily twice as "bad" or harmful to the artist as downloading one song,

Of course you're not owed anything; My point is that downloading two songs is not necessarily twice as "bad" or harmful to the artist as downloading one song, so trying to establish a fine on a "per-song" basis is absurd. For each additional song a person downloads, there is a diminishing harm done to the artists and labels involved, and it eventually reaches a point where absolutely no additional harm is done. Therefore, any punishment should be related to a reasonable estimate on the harm of the artists/labels (and of course multiplied to the point of punishment, but to a reasonable extent given the crime). It would be different in a case of actual theft; each physical CD stolen is a CD that cannot be sold to someone else, and it's an asset that the thief can resell.