Firms Dangle Extras to Attract Buyers : Manufacturers are ‘really anxious’ to draw attention to music-video titles on the higher-quality format, so they’re adding bonus tracks.

Talk about history repeating itself.

Remember how record companies lured pop fans to the new compact-disc configuration a few years ago by including “bonus songs” on the CD versions of the albums--songs that weren’t available on vinyl or cassette?

Guess what one laser-disc firm is now doing to tempt videocassette fans to sample the laser format, which offers far superior sound and picture quality?

The answer is found on the cover of Aerosmith’s new “Things That Go Pump in the Night” laser disc: “Exclusive bonus clip! ‘The Other Side.’ ” This means Aerosmith fans who buy the laser disc of “Pump”--which was released by Pioneer Artists--will get to see the band performing a song that isn’t on the videocassette of “Pump.”

Steven Galloway, manager of Pioneer Artists, said that the “bonus clip” concept is one sign of an increased aggressiveness on the part of laser-disc manufacturers and distributors who feel the long-predicted “explosion” in music-oriented laser discs is finally near.

“We’re really anxious to do things that will draw attention to music-video titles on laser disc, so we experimented with putting two bonus tracks on a Phil Collins laser last summer and the response was excellent,” he said.

Another sign of the increased marketing aggressiveness: the release of selected home videos in laser disc before they are available in videocassette. The most dramatic example: Madonna’s “Blond Ambition” concert video will be available from Pioneer laser next month, but not in videocassette until late next year.

Image Entertainment--the other major laser-disc distributor--is also exploring various bonus video features, including interactive programming. The company plans to release early next year a version of “Satchmo,” which is already available in videocassette. The laser version will also include an electronic data base consisting of a complete discography and the text of a book on the late Louis Armstrong.

Bruce Venezia, vice president of programing and production for Image, said he, too, senses a coming boom in music-related lasers.

“A lot of the record companies are starting to realize there is a big potential market out there,” he said. “Their videotape music business has exploded over the last couple of years and now they are finding that consumers in most cases would prefer laser disc because of the sound quality.”

Vic Faraci, senior vice president of Warner Bros. Records, agreed. “It has always been a matter of time with laser disc and the time seems now,” he said, pointing to the arrival of combination laser-disc and CD players that are widely discounted to below $400.

Here is a look at some recent laser titles, including some packages that have been remastered for digital sound. They are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five stars (excellent).

*** The Bangles’ “Greatest Hits” (Image)--This collection of nine song videos by that other nifty Los Angeles female rock band of the ‘80s underscores the differences between laser disc and videocassette. On videocassette, the videos are akin to MTV because the picture and sound quality is roughly the same. On laser disc, however, the sharpness of the picture and sound make it seem like seeing them for the first time.

*** 1/2 Bob Marley & the Wailers’ “Live from the Santa Barbara Bowl” (Pioneer Artists)--Just re-issued in digital sound, this 1979 concert performance features reggae’s greatest figure performing some of his most famous tunes, including “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Get Up, Stand Up.”

*** 1/2 “Rock and Roll: The Early Years” (Pioneer Artists)--Also re-released in digital sound, this documentary overcomes some stiff narration with classic performance footage of everyone from Elvis Presley to Little Richard and with TV-film clips that add to the flavor of the ‘50s rock revolution.

**** “25 x 5: The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones” (Image)--The first two-thirds of two-disc collection is magnificent: great concert and documentary footage accented by disarming comments as the Stones look back on the early innocence and eventual decadence.