This Halloween, Radio Kaos in Stevens Point will celebrate 20 years of business, but for the record store’s owner the celebration will be bittersweet.

Randy Wagner always dreamed of owning his own record store and in 1989 he made his dream a reality.

Today, nearly two decades later, he is reflecting on the love of music he made into a living and the technology shift that has now left him struggling.

Wagner said CD burners were the first big hit record stores took.

"[It] used to be a 14-year-old would come in and buy a new ACDC record and then every one of his friends would come and buy it too. Well, now every one of his friends gets a copy,
Wagner said.

But burners would not be the biggest hit to his record store’s success.

"It came on like gangbusters with Napster,” he said. "That was a stunning blow when it happened because all of the sudden there's a lot less people in your store."

Since the decline of CD sales and the rise of digital music, Wagner says his customer base and income has become unpredictable.

But, as one of only two record stores in Northcentral Wisconsin, he is not ready to give up yet.

“We’re a dying breed,” Wagner said. “I don't have any intention of going anywhere."

Wagner says he believes there will always be people who want to buy music.

“It's just if there are enough of them to keep us all afloat."