Although Halford's concert series were considered artistically successful by critics, attendances were variable and in 1901 the Halford Concerts Society was established to cover financial losses, with members guaranteeing at least five pounds to provide Halford's organisation financial security to allow his adventurous programming to continue. By 1906, however, interest and support for the orchestra was declining and the standard of performances was increasingly coming under attack by the critic Ernest Newman of the Birmingham Post.
