- In reference to the estate matter, Saxony is liable to settle with the descendants of the renowned songwriter.
Saxony no longer reaps the rewards of the track "At the Window" by band City, as stated by a media outlet. Almost two decades after the demise of lyrics writer Hildegard Maria Rauchfuß, heirs have been identified, as mentioned in "Die Welt am Sonntag". The Free State was obligated to shell out approximately 144,000 euros, as confirmed by Martin Oberacher, Head of Central Area Management in Saxony, who dealt with such financial inheritances, in an interview with the publication.
As Oberacher explained, a seasoned heir finder reached out via email in June 2022, proposing a possible heir. Subsequent probing revealed that there were indeed five inheritors situated in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Schleswig-Holstein.
The song "At the Window", the most popular number by the Berlin music collective, derives from a poem penned by Rauchfuß. Upon her passing in Leipzig in 2000, no heirs could be traced initially, thereby granting the estate to the Free State in 2002. According to "Die Welt am Sonntag", the state had reaped annual royalties and license fees amounting to around 10,000 euros ever since. The state acquires the inheritance when a person lacks surviving kin or renounces it.
Innovations in music rights management led to the discovery of potential heirs, as discussed in a recent article. Without Rauchfuß's musical contributions, City's track "At the Window" might have had a different fate in Saxony's music scene.
