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Privateering is the seventh solo studio album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released on 3 September 2012 by Mercury Records. The first studio double-album of Knopfler's 35-year career as a recording artist, Privateering consists of twenty original songs, and integrates meticulously crafted blues rock with traditional folk and country genres. Recorded between March and December 2011, the album received generally positive reviews throughout Europe, and reached the number one position on album charts in Austria, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands, as well as the number two or three position in Belgium, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The album peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom.

Privateering was Knopfler's first album in three years. His previous album, Get Lucky, was released in September 2009, and was supported with a tour from 8 April 2010 to 31 July 2010. In January 2011, Knopfler produced the album The Sailor's Revenge for Bap Kennedy at British Grove Studios in London. Knopfler built the award-winning studio in 2005 and recorded Kill to Get Crimson (2007) and Get Lucky (2009) at the state-of-the-art facility. For the Bap Kennedy project, Knopfler enlisted the help of several top session players, including Jerry Douglas, Glenn Worf, John McCusker, and Michael McGoldrick. They were joined by James Walbourne, Ian Thomas, and Guy Fletcher. By March 2011, Knopfler and Guy Fletcher returned to British Grove to begin work on Knopfler's next solo album.

Privateering was recorded at Studio 2 at British Grove Studios in London between 4 March and 7 December 2011, with additional backing vocals, drum overdubs, and strings recorded in February 2012. On 4 March 2011, Knopfler and Guy Fletcher began pre-production on the new album. For the next three months, as Knopfler ran through the new songs, the two discussed possible arrangements and the best instruments to support each song. Knopfler tested numerous guitars from his collection in search of the right sound for each song. Fletcher later wrote, "Each and every one of the guitars to hand has different characteristics and can lend itself to a particular song. The trouble is, there's no way of knowing this unless you try them all, so part of our routine when we set up for a recording is to find which guitar will work best 'for the song'."

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