iTunes Match downloading on my iPad???

tmksnyder wrote:

Also, itunes will not sync more data over. So the download space is really only dynamic within the music application.

That's mostly but not entirely correct - iTunes will continue to sync podcasts and other "ineligible" content that can't go through the cloud. That includes removing older episodes of podcasts, so it does clean up some space.

It's not entirely out of question that iTunes could be involved in the removal of older cloud-based music (although I don't think it is).

Check to see if you have the option "Automatically Fill free space with songs" checkbox checked in the iTunes Music tab for your iPad.

I think this is a problem for lots of people. Apple has clearly not taken the time needed to make sure its customers understand the difference in options for iTunes Match and that leads to confusion. I believe it would have been better for everyone if this had just been a streaming service but then it would not be nice and complicated. I can understand not wanting to run out of space if you only have 16 gigs to begin with and having the music downloading constantly makes it even more confusing. You would NOT have to worry at all if this service had just been designed to stream your music !

You should not have to constantly delete music to make sure you have enough space for other items it's just a big pain.