And for 99.99% of people this was true. The overwhelming majority of people actually doing piracy went untouched. And even the artists were forced to concede, by the end, that they got suckered by a constellation of shady agents and lawyers who took them for a ride.

I'm not sure why you're posting this as if it's not still happening. The BMI has been known to sue DIY venues for playing licensed music over the PA between bands if they find out about it. Sure, most people will get away with it but it still sucks for the few that don't.

I'd also argue there's a good chance this could start happening more and more as the corporations see their rate of profit falling naturally. They're not gonna do the smart thing and blame capitalism, they're gonna try to figure out how to go after whoever they want to extract as much extra money as possible.

As someone who does not own a small business, I do not care.

I don't care about small businesses either, but it's an example of corporations weaponizing IP law to go against people smaller than them. Monster, for example, also sued charities for using Monster in the name. If you don't think big tech would go after a mutual aid group or something else doing cool shit that happens to use AI for some reason, you're wrong.