Success

Clayderman has a curious market niche on third world countries, a fact mainly attributed by critics to his commercially-oriented performance of local and very popular music (especially love songs), and inexpensive, well-distributed records. On the other hand, there are people who refer to his work as elevator music [citation needed], because of extensive playing of his production in neutral spaces as elevators, malls and other public spaces. Richard Clayderman, however, according to the linked interview, does not see this classification as negative as, according to him, he feels pleased to turn people's workplaces and daily lives into more pleasant places through the use of his music.

Clayderman’s music continues to be exceedingly popular in East Asia, in places such as Japan, Taiwan and Mainland China. Some Chinese music teachers attribute the popularity of his music in Mainland China to the increase in the number of piano students since the 1980s, and some even believe in the other way: it was due to the popularity of Clayderman's music that the number of piano students surged. According to the book Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams, published 1990, Clayderman was the most-played artist in China then.[citatio